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Hanging “The Pansy Tea-Room” sign just out¬ 
side the hedge. 

(Page 92) (“The Girl Scouts’ Vacation Adventures”) 










THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 

VACATION ADVENTURES 


By EDITH LAVELL 


Author of 

“The Girl Scouts at Miss Allen’s School,” “The Girl 
Scouts at Ccrnp,” “The Girl Scouts’ Good Turn,” 
“The Girl Scouts’ Canoe Trip,” “The Girl 
Scouts’ Rivals’’ “The Girl Scouts* Motor 
Trip 



A. L. BURT COMPANY 
Publishers New York 

















THE 

GIRL SCOUTS SERIES 

A SERIES OK STORIES FOR GIRL SCOUTS 

By EDITH LAVELL 

The Girl Scouts at Miss Allen’s School 

The Girl Scouts at Camp 

The Girl Scouts’ Good Turn 

The Girl Scouts’ Canoe Trip 

The Girl Scouts’ Rivals 

The Girl Scouts on the Ranch 

The Girl Scouts’ Vacation Adventures 

The Girl Scouts’ Motor Trip 

Copyright, 1924 
By A. L. BURT COMPANY 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ VACATION ADVENTURES 


Made in “U. S. A.” 




APR 11 24 


©C1A778794 











THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 
VACATION ADVENTURES 


CHAPTER I. 

A NEW ENTERPRISE 

It was spring vacation for the girls of Miss 
Allen's school. Easter was late this year, so the 
holiday had been long in coming; but now it was 
here—ten delicious, lazy days in the very heart ot 
April—and Daisy Gravers meant to enjoy them. 

Until a week ago she had not looked forward to 
this time with any particular longing, for her 
mother would be visiting her married daughter 
Olive, and the house would probably seem lonely. 
But then came that wonderful invitation from 
Florence Evans, to spend a whole week with her in 
New York, to see Marjorie Wilkinson and Lily An¬ 
drews who would be home from college, and to at¬ 
tend some of the parties the latter was planning. 

3 



4 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


Daisy’s newer friends had never taken the place of 
the old ones—the seven girls of that senior patrol 
from Pansy Troop who had been together the pre¬ 
vious summer on the ranch in Wyoming. Any vaca¬ 
tion, no matter how brief, which afforded an oppor¬ 
tunity for her to see them promised to be most 
delightful. 

So Daisy sat in the comfortable living-room of 
the Evans home and waited contentedly for her hos¬ 
tess to join her again. The day was beautiful; the 
prospect of a walk was alluring. It did not matter 
in the least to Daisy that her spring suit was not this 
year’s, and that her hat was inexpensive; in her joy¬ 
ous frame of mind New York was a wonderful place 
to be visiting, even if one’s clothing did indicate 
one’s country origin. The girl was perfectly happy. 

One glance at Florence’s face, however, as she 
entered the room, told Daisy that her hostess did not 
share her exultant mood. In fact, she was literally 
pouting. 

“Mother and Edith make me tired!” she ex¬ 
claimed, “with their everlasting social work! You 
can’t have a day to yourself, or plan an innocent 
little walk without their dragging charity into it!” 

“What’s the matter now, Flos?” asked Daisy, 
rather amused at her friend’s petulance. 

“Why, instead of going for our nice stroll in the 
Park, we’ve got to go hunt up some poor female on 


VACATION ADVENTURES 5 

mother’s church visiting list! She’s sick or some¬ 
thing—” 

“But what can we do ?” asked Daisy, as she drew 
on her gloves. She was beginning to feel a little 
reluctant herself; charity work was not in her line. 

“ ‘Investigate the case,’ as mother told me! I 
wish she’d investigate her own cases—or send 
Edith! Now if it were a basketball game to referee, 
I wouldn’t mind.” 

“But what’s the matter with the woman ?” 

“She’s sick, and poor, and has a baby, of course,** 
replied Florence, as if all three of the things she 
mentioned were proofs of criminality. 

“Poor woman!” sighed Daisy, as they stepped out 
of the door. 

But once they were in the open air, even though it 
was city air, and felt the soft April wind against 
their cheeks, both girls forgot all about the distaste¬ 
fulness of their errand, and lapsed into their old, 
happy, gossipy vein. They began to discuss school 
—their class affairs, (they were both seniors at Miss 
Allen’s), and their scout activities. It was Daisy 
who first mentioned the luncheon to which Lily An¬ 
drews had invited them. 

“Do you suppose it’s in honor of Marj?” she 
asked. “You know she’s visiting Lily for a few 
days during the college vacation.” 

“No, not entirely,” replied Florence, “because it’s 


6 


THE GIRL SCOUTS' 


in honor of somebody whose engagement is soon to 
be announced. We’re all to send something for the 
linen shower, you know.” 

“And it isn’t possible that Marj is engaged?” 
laughed Daisy. 

“No, I don’t think so. Marj has set her heart on 
finishing college, and she has three years more. It 
might more likely be Lily herself.” 

“Yes, it might. Oh, I wonder who will be there!” 

“As many of the old senior patrol as she can get 
together, I think. Oh, Daisy!” She stopped sud¬ 
denly, confronted by a flower vendor. “Let’s buy 
some violets! We city people can’t go find them like 
you can, you know.” 

Having arranged their bouquets at their waists to 
their satisfaction, they continued their walk. They 
were having too good a time to shorten it by riding, 
and they were not particularly anxious to reach their 
destination. Indeed, it seemed to them that they ar¬ 
rived all too quickly at the dingy little house corre¬ 
sponding to the address Mrs. Evans had given. 
Mounting the dirty steps, Florence knocked timidly 
at the door. 

“What is it?” asked a woman, opening the door 
only an inch or two, and peering cautiously out. 

“We’re from St. Andrew’s Church,” said Flor¬ 
ence ; “and we came to find out whether there is any¬ 
thing they could do to help Mrs. Trawle.” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


7 


“Come in,” said the woman, grudgingly, widen¬ 
ing the crack only sufficiently to allow the girls to 
enter singly. 

The room presented a most unattractive appear¬ 
ance; even in the dim light of the drawn shades, 
both girls could see that what furniture there was 
was disreputable. Soiled clothing and threadbare 
towels hung about on the chairs, and one small 
frayed piece of carpet about the size of a window- 
frame was the only floor covering. In a darkened 
corner a woman lay on an untidy bed—a woman too 
sick even to notice the entrance of the strangers. 

“That’s her in bed,” said the other, who had ad¬ 
mitted the girls; “but she’s that sick she don’t know 
her own baby.” 

“Why doesn’t she go to a hospital?” asked Flor¬ 
ence, rather unsympathetically. 

“She keeps talkin’ in her delirium about dyin’, 
and the poor baby a goin’ to an orphan asylum, and 
somehow she connects that with a hospital. But if 
she dies, which she probably will, that’s what’s got 
t’happen, for none of us neighbors could take care of 
’er!” 

A groan escaped from the lips of the sick woman, 
as if she were conscious of the portent of their con¬ 
versation, and a pathetic little sob seemed to come as 
an echo from the baby. Daisy’s tender heart was 


8 


THE GIRL SCOUTS' 


touched immediately; she crossed the room and 
leaned over the bed. 

“Mrs. Trawle!” she said, softly. “Please, 
listen!” 

The invalid wearily responded, though she hardly 
looked capable of taking in what Daisy was about to 
say. 

“We girls will take care of your baby if you will 
go to the hospital—really we will! Promise me 
you’ll go!” 

The woman’s face brightened for a moment; she 
seemed to know instinctively that she could trust 
Daisy. But she shook her head, as another thought 
crossed her mind. 

“But what if I die?” she asked, in a hoarse whis¬ 
per. 

Daisy stretched out her fresh young hand and 
touched Mrs. Trawle’s wasted one, trying to put 
comfort and assurance into the grasp. 

“Then we will care for the baby.” 

“Thank God!” sighed the woman, fervently. 
“Then I will go to the hospital—the one around the 
corner. You will take little Betty with you—now?” 

“Yes! Yes!” cried Daisy; “if your friend will 
pack her things.” 

“She has nuthin’ but what she’s got on,” put in 
the other woman; and while Daisy prepared to take 
the baby, she attended to the sick woman. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


9 


It was all arranged in an incredibly short time; 
within fifteen minutes the ambulance had called for 
Mrs. Trawle, and the girls, with their charge in 
Daisy’s lap, were whirling home in a taxi-cab. It 
was not until they were half way there that Florence 
expressed her opinion. 

“Daisy, I honestly think you’re crazy!” she an¬ 
nounced, surveying the baby coldly. She had never 
cared for children. 

But Daisy was ecstatically happy, not only be¬ 
cause she was doing something benevolent for some¬ 
one else, but also because she naturaly loved babies. 
Already she had fallen in love with the helpless little 
creature. 

“You don’t mean to say you wouldn’t have 
offered, if I hadn’t!” she exclaimed, incredulously. 

“Certainly not!” announced Florence, empha¬ 
tically. “It’s sheer nonsense! But of course we can 
easily send her to an orphan asylum later on—when 
the woman dies.” 

“Florence! You cruel, heartless girl!” 

Daisy held the baby close up in her arms, as if she 
were afraid it might understand the cold-blooded re¬ 
mark, and be hurt. 

“But Daisy, we can’t afford to pay somebody to 
take care of it—to assume its support. Neither one 
of our families is rich enough. And you certainly 
don’t expect to lug it with us back to Miss Allen’s?” 


10 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“No,” admitted the other, smiling at the ab¬ 
surdity of such an idea. She was almost beginning 
to regret her action, viewed from Florence’s com¬ 
mon-sense point of view. “Will your mother be 
angry ?” 

“No; she and Edith will both think you were 
wonderful to do it. They’re both dipped on the 
charity stuff.” 

Daisy breathed a sigh of relief; it was something 
to have Mrs. Evans’s and her oldest daughter’s ap¬ 
proval of her impetuosity. 

The girls were greeted at the door by all the mem¬ 
bers of the Evans family. Edith had noticed the 
taxi from the window, had seen Daisy’s bundle 
which she identified as a baby, and had rushed out in 
breathless curiosity. 

Daisy entered the hall first, vainly attempting to 
hide her excitement, while Florence followed in 
haughty disdain. 

“Where did you get the baby ?” demanded Edith, 
in amazement. “Do let me see!” 

“Oh, the poor thing needs a bath!” said Mrs. 
Evans, taking it from Daisy’s arms. “And is prob- 
'ably hungry, too!” 

In broken sentences, Daisy managed to tell her 
story, apologizing profusely for her audacity in 
bringing the child to her hostess’s home. But both 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


11 


Mrs. Evans and Edith immediately silenced her by 
assuring her of their sanction of her deed. 

“It’s exactly what I would have done myself,” 
said Mrs. Evans, “and I am so glad you were there 
to offer, for such a thing never would have occurred 
to Florence.” 

“Hardly!” remarked her younger daughter. 
“Em too practical; Ed have counted the cost first.” 

“Oh, we’ll get the money somehow!” asserted 
Daisy, confidently. “Ell put it up to Marj Wilkin¬ 
son, and she’ll find a way!” Ever since Marjorie 
had been so instrumental in uniting her sister Olive 
with her husband, Daisy had come to regard her as 
resourceful in a crisis of almost any variety. 

“The important thing now,” remarked Mrs. 
Evans, “is to care for the baby at the present, and 
let the future take care of itself. If the woman 
lives, Daisy will be responsible for saving her life; 
for I am sure she would have died if you had not 
sent her to the hospital. Now—suppose you girls all 
get to work! Edith, run across the street and bor¬ 
row enough of little Bobbie’s clothing to dress the 
baby clean! Florence, you go to the drug store for a 
nursing bottle; and Daisy, you help me to bathe 
her. Once we get her comfortable, we can begin to 
think about what to buy.” 

The girls separated to carry out the older 
woman’s orders, Daisy secretly delighted that the 


12 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


task she had been assigned kept her there with the 
baby. 

Almost immediately Edith returned with the bor¬ 
rowed outfit, and Mrs. Evans proceeded to undress 
the child. The state of her clothing was really piti¬ 
ful; indeed, it could hardly be dignified by that 
name, but rather resembled rags, held together by 
safety-pins. Moreover, they were soiled, and little 
Betty herself was none too clean. 

But soap and warm water wrought wonders, and 
under Mrs. Evans’s skillful handling the little crea¬ 
ture was soon snugly tucked in bed, sucking at the 
bottle of diluted milk which was propped up by her 
side. All of the girls felt a secret thrill at the trans¬ 
formation they had witnessed, and even Florence 
began to regret her hastiness in denouncing Daisy’s 
action. 

It was not until the baby was asleep and they were 
all down in the living room that Mrs. Evans re¬ 
membered that she had a telephone message for the 
girls. 

“Marjorie Wilkinson phoned,” she said, “and said 
she would stop here on her way to Lily’s, so I per¬ 
suaded her to stay to supper. She finally admitted 
that she was not expected there until after supper, 
because it seems the Andrews all have to go to a 
wedding.” 

“Oh, Joy!” cried Daisy, jumping to her feet in 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


13 


(delight. “Just the very person we want to see! Who 
ever heard of such luck?” 

“Of course it will be great to see Marj,” agreed 
Florence; “but why do you say she is ‘just the per¬ 
son we want to see’—any more than any other of our 
best friends?” 

“Why, because she’ll be able to help us plan how 
to take care of little Betty!” replied Daisy, imme¬ 
diately. 

They did not have long to wait for their visitor. 
In less than half an hour, while Mrs. Evans and 
Edith were out making their purchases, Marjorie ar¬ 
rived. 

In spite of the fact that Daisy had not seen her 
since the previous fall, she found her unchanged; 
Marjorie Wilkinson was the same sparkling, viva¬ 
cious girl she had been at Miss Allen’s. A year at 
college had not even seemed to make her a day 
older. 

“You look wonderful, Marj!” she cried, as both 
she and Florence embraced her at once. “I don’t 
have to ask whether college agrees with you!” 

“It’s great!” announced Marjorie, smiling from 
one girl to the other; “and rooming with Lily makes 
it ten times nicer. I’m so thankful I was able to per¬ 
suade her to go.” 

“You wouldn’t have much trouble persuading me, 
if I had the money,” remarked Daisy. 


14 


THE GIRL' SCOUTS’ 


“Oh, you’ll get the scholarship,” said Florence, 
with assurance. Then, turning to explain to Mar¬ 
jorie, “You know we have a college scholarship now 
at Miss Allen’s, founded by some rich donor. And 
there isn’t a doubt that Daisy will get it this year!” 

“How about you and Alice ?” asked Daisy, flush¬ 
ing at the other girl’s tribute. 

“We don’t stand a ghost of a chance,” replied 
Florence. 

The mention of Miss Allen’s naturally sharpened 
Marjorie’s curiosity for news, and both Florence 
and Daisy told her all they could think of, about 
the girls she knew, the scout troop, and their new 
captain. 

“And what are the troop’s plans for this sum¬ 
mer?” asked Marjorie, secretly envious of the girls 
who were still active members. 

“The usual camping trip, I believe,” replied 
Daisy. “But Flos and I have decided not to go.” 

“Why?” asked Marjorie, her eyes, wide open 
with astonishment at the thought of losing such an 
opportunity. 

“We’d miss the dear old senior patrol too much,” 
replied Daisy, sadly. “Girl Scouts will never be the 
same to me without you and Lily and Doris—” 

“And Ethel Todd and Mae Van Horn,” added 
Florence. “The bunch that was together last sum¬ 
mer on the ranch.” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


15 


“Well, I guess we’ll see most everybody tomor¬ 
row at Lily’s luncheon,” remarked Marjorie. “1 
understand it’s to be a sort of reunion.” 

“And an engagement shower, too,” put in Daisy. 
“But we don’t know whom it’s for. Not you, Marj ?” 

“Mercy, no! Far from it! I haven’t the slightest 
idea—unless it’s Mae or Doris. I haven’t heard 
from them much during the year.” 

“It isn’t Lily herself?” 

“Oh, no! Positively not! How about you two ?” 

Both Daisy and Florence laughed at the sugges¬ 
tion, and the former seized the opportunity to tell 
Marjorie about the baby. She related the story just 
as it had happened, omitting, however, any mention 
of Florence’s opposition. 

“So you see I’m dying to keep her,” she con¬ 
cluded: “but of course I can’t afford it. Can you 
think of any possible way?” 

Marjorie was silent for a moment, lost in thought. 

“Yes,” she said, finally. “Couldn’t you put it up 
to Pansy Troop to provide for her as another of 
their good turns ?” 

Daisy’s spirits, which had brightened at the in¬ 
timation of a solution, sank again when she heard 
the reply. She shook her head sadly. 

“Couldn’t be done, Marj! We run on a budget 
now, and all the money we can possibly raise for 


16 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


charity next year is already pledged. I’m afraid 
that’s out of the question.” 

Marjorie appeared disappointed, and Florence 
drew down the corners of her mouth to hide a smile. 
Before anything further could be said they were re¬ 
minded of the baby’s presence by a sudden cry. 
Daisy dashed up stairs at once, with Marjorie and 
Florence at her heels. 

“Oh, she’s adorable!” exclaimed Marjorie, for she 
was a girl who loved babies under any circum¬ 
stances, even when they cried. 

Daisy lifted the little girl tenderly in her arms, 
and the wails instantly ceased. 

“And her name’s Elizabeth—the same as Mrs. 
Remington’s!” she remarked, referring to the 
former, beloved captain of Pansy Troop. 

“That settles it!” announced Marjorie, empha¬ 
tically. “Now we have to adopt her. The old senior 
patrol will do it!” 

“Wonderful!” cried Daisy, kissing the baby on 
both cheeks. 

“But how?” demanded Florence, abruptly. 

“Earn the money, of course!” answered Marjorie. 

“But you know we can’t, Marj!” insisted Flor¬ 
ence. “Do be practical. Think how scattered we are.” 

“Yes, I know,” admitted the other, slowly. “I’ll 
think hard, though, and maybe have something to 
suggest by tomorrow.” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


IT 


The entrance of Mrs. Evans and Edith put an 
abrupt end to the conversation, and the girls all 
turned their attention to the delightful task of un¬ 
wrapping- the dainty wardrobe which had just been 
purchased. Nor was any further mention of the 
scheme made during the remainder of Marjorie’s 
visit; it was only when she was going out of the 
door that she whispered to Daisy not to despair. 

'Tor I’ll find a way,” she assured her; "at least, 
if there is one to be found 1” 

"I believe you will!” replied the other girl ad¬ 
miringly. 


18 


THE GIRL SCOUTS 5 


CHAPTER II. 

Marjorie's problem 

As Marjorie rode along* in a taxi that evening 
she was conscious of a pleasant tingling sensation— 
the exhiliration she always experienced when there 
was a new problem to be deciphered and solved. 
Hers was a logical, practical mind, which exulted 
in difficulties—difficulties which, however, were not 
insurmountable. She found Daisy's project just to 
her liking. At the present moment she had not the 
slightest idea which might lead to its accomplish¬ 
ment; and yet she felt sure that in some way one 
would come to her. She would never give up with¬ 
out making a tremendous effort to help Daisy— 
Daisy, who was always so unselfish, so thoughtful 
of others. How like the girl it was to care for such 
a helpless little waif, and, at the same time, to put 
a dying woman’s fears at rest! When it was a mat¬ 
ter of human sympathy and affection, Daisy would 
never stop to count the cost. 

And then Marjorie thought of Lily, and she won¬ 
dered in what light she would view the matter. She 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


19 


alone, of all the girls in the old senior patrol was in 
a position to render financial assistance. Would she 
be likely to be interested ? Perhaps not at first; but 
no doubt Marjorie could win her over to her own 
point of view, just as she had convinced her that she 
should insist upon a college education, in spite of 
the temporary opposition of her parents. Undoubt¬ 
edly, she concluded, Lily would be with her in this, 
as in all other undertakings; and the knowledge 
brought her a fresh source of inspiration and cour¬ 
age. 

When she reached Lily’s apartment, she found 
that her hostess had been home for some time, im¬ 
patiently waiting for her arrival. The girls greeted 
each other with the old affection; another year of 
close companionship had only served to bind them 
more tightly together. 

“Where have you been ?” demanded Lily, with the 
intimacy that admits of no barriers. “I even thought 
you’d be here for supper, and left word with the 
maid to get you some.” 

“No, I stoped at the Evans’s,” replied Marjorie, 
“and had supper there.” 

“How are they? Is Florence coming to the 
luncheon ?” 

“Yes, indeed! So is Daisy Gravers. And we’re 
just dying to know who is engaged.” 

“If you had bought a paper tonight, you would 


20 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


have found out,” laughed Lily. “But see whether 
you can guess.” 

“One of our old bunch —the eight, I mean?” 
asked Marjorie. 

“Yes.” 

“Then it must be Doris!” 

“Righto! I thought you’d know immediately. To 
Roger Harris.” 

“Well! Well! The fellow Jack knows?” 

“The very same.” 

“Tell me who all are coming to the luncheon day 
after tomorrow,” begged Marjorie. 

“Well,” began Lily, “first there’s Doris, and 
Marie Louise Harris, Roger’s sister, who is to be 
maid-of-honor, and—” 

But the entrance of Mrs. Andrews into the room 
interrupted the conversation for a moment, while 
she greeted Marjorie. The latter, who was sitting 
on the davenport beside Lily, still wore her hat and 
travelling coat. She rose as the older woman came 
in. 

“Do take off your things and stay a few minutes, 
Marjorie,” she said, laughingly. “Or haven’t you 
time ?” 

. “We haven’t time to stop talking long enough,” 
explained Marjorie. “We have so much to say. 
You see I’m hearing all about the luncheon.” 

“Then to continue,” went on Lily, “I expect all 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


21 


the other girls of the senior patrol. That’s all.” 

“Tell me what everybody is doing,” demanded 
Marjorie, anxious to hear all the gossip. 

“I guess you know about as much as I do,” said 
Lily. “You know Ethel Todd’s spring vacation 
comes the same time as ours, so she’s home; and 
so are the three seniors at Miss Allen’s—Daisy, 
Florence, and Alice. Mae Van Horn finished her 
business course and has a position as a stenographer 
here in the city, and Doris has been playing the 
society-bud all winter. Now would you like me to 
tell you about Marjorie Wilkinson?” 

“Yes, do!” laughed Marjorie. 

“Well, she’s a freshman at Turner College—very 
popular, of course. Made all the class teams— 
hockey, basket-ball, swimming,—was elected class 
treasurer, is a wizard at her studies— 

“Has a most charming room-mate!” interrupted 
Marjorie, eager to put in her say. 

“What’s all this?” inquired Mr. Andrews, enter¬ 
ing the room just in time to hear the end of the 
conversation. “Two modest little girls who hate 
themselves — 99 

“Perhaps It did sound rather funny,” admitted 
Marjorie. “Now X want to hear all about this wed¬ 
ding you have just been attending.” 

There was so much to talk about that the girls 
were preparing for bed before Marjorie had even 


22 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


found a chance to tell Daisy's story. But at last she 
related it to Lily's astonished ears. 

“But what in the world can Daisy do with a 
baby?" demanded the latter. “She surely can’t ex¬ 
pect to take it to Miss Allen's?" 

“Hardly!" replied Marjorie. “She’ll have to pay 
somebody to take care of it—and you know she 
can't afford to do that! The senior patrol has sim- 
ply got to stand behind her." 

Lily yawned wearily; it was rather tiresome of 
Marjorie and Daisy to thrust a problem like this 
into the midst of all their gaiety. 

“I suppose so,” she admitted absently, her mind 
upon the table decorations for the luncheon she 
was giving. 

“It’ll mean quite a good deal of money, too," 
added Marjorie; “for the mother will probably die; 
and if she doesn’t she won’t be strong enough to 
support her child for a long time." 

“Oh well, if she dies we can put the baby into 
an orphan asylum," said Lily. “They're really aw¬ 
fully nice places now—not a bit like the dreary, 
old-fashioned kind you read about. Father is on 
the Board of one, and he says it’s run very de¬ 
cently." 

“But I would hate to put little Betty into one," 
objected Marjorie. “And I’m afraid it would break 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


23 


Daisy’s heart, after she promised the mother, you 
know.” 

“I suppose we’ll have to see what we can do. Now 
then, let’s go to sleep, so we’ll be fresh for tomor¬ 
row. But first I want to ask you one thing: have 
you seen John Hadley since the vacation started?” 

Marjorie felt herself flushing at the mention of 
that young man’s name, and was glad that all the 
lights, except the tiny boudoir lamp between the 
twin beds, were extinguished, so that Lily would not 
notice her agitation. 

“Yes, once. Why?” 

“Oh, I just wondered. Because you’re going to 
see him tomorrow night. He and Dick Roberts 
are going to take us to the theatre.” 

“How perfectly wonderful!” exclaimed Marjorie. 
“But I thought that they were both living in Phila¬ 
delphia.” 

“So they are—and are just coming to New York 
to see us! Now, isn’t that thrilling?” 

“I should say so. Are they coming here for din¬ 
ner?” 

“Yes; they invited us to go to a hotel, but mother 
put her foot down. I’m just as glad—we’ll have as 
good a time here, even if we have mother and father 
to chaperone us.” 

“Oh, they’re such good sports!” said Marjorie. 
“They don’t seem like older people. But say, Lil, 


24 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


it sounds like a lot of gaiety—dinner and theatre 
tomorrow, luncheon the day after—” 

“A dance at Mae’s the next day,” added Lily, 
‘‘and finally a bridge party at the McAlpin, given by 
a friend of mother’s, in honor of her daughter.” 

“And then we have to go back to college!” sighed 
Marjorie. “Oh, what a come down!” 

“Still, you know you’ll be glad to get back, and 
see all the girls—and our little Girl Scouts in the 
village.” 

“I suppose so,” admitted Marjorie, thinking of 
the troop of poor children which she had organized, 
and over which she and Lily presided. It had been 
one of her chief sources of happiness that year to 
be able to continue her active membership in the 
Girl Scouts by this means, and in some ways she 
had enjoyed the meetings even more than those of 
dear old Pansy Troop. 

“Come on—let’s go to sleep now!” said Lily, ex¬ 
tinguishing the tiny light; “we’ll need every bit of 
rest we can get.” 

Mrs. Andrews, too, realized the girls' need for 
sleep, and made no attempt to waken them before 
they were ready. Indeed, it was almost eleven 
o’clock when the maid knocked at the door, and 
brought in their breakfast. The girls ate leisurely, 
taking up the conversation where they had left off 


t 


VACATION ADVENTURES 25 

the previous night, and talking as if they had not a 
minute to lose. 

“Did you think of any way to help Daisy while 
you were asleep ?” asked Marjorie, laughingly. 

“Mercy, no, Marj! The thing never entered my 
mind. In fact I would have forgotten all about it, 
if you had not mentioned it again.” 

“You’re cruel, Lil! But then I couldn’t think of 
anything, either. Unless we renounce all our 
pleasures for the coming four days, and hand the 
money over to Daisy!” 

“Marj, you’re joking?” 

“Partly. But just take tonight, for instance: 
four theatre tickets—that couldn’t be less than ten 
dollars—a taxi, maybe flowers! No supper after¬ 
ward, because your mother disapproves, but no 
'doubt she is providing something for us to eat after 
we get home. I tell you the money we spend in 
those few hours might keep Betty two or three 
weeks!” 

“But Marj!” remonstrated Lily, “there will al¬ 
ways be orphans and poor people in the world, and 
we can’t renounce all our pleasures on their account. 
We had better be nuns—” 

“Oh, Lil, I’m not scolding you,” put in Marjorie, 
noticing the girl’s concern. “Of course I wouldn t 
really do that—I only said it was the one and only 
thing that had occurred to me.” 


26 


THE GIKL SCOUTS’ 


“I could give her some of my allowance,” Lily 
continued; “if that would help.” 

“You’re a perfect dear, Lil!” cried Marjorie, 
jumping up and putting her arms around her chum’s 
neck. “But I don’t think that will be necessary. 
I’m sure we’ll think up some plan. I intend to ask 
John tonight.” 

“John Hadley?” repeated Lily, in astonishment. 
“Why John Hadley? What could he do?” 

“Well, he and his mother helped so much before 
—in uniting Olive and Kirk Smith—that I just 
have a lot of faith in them.” 

“All right, go ahead. I’ll see that you two sit 
next to each other tonight. Of course that’s the 
only reason why you would wish to!” 

“Naturally,” agreed Marjorie, with a blush. 

But it did seem as if it were the thing closest to 
her heart, for that evening, as soon as the party 
was seated at the dinner table, and the conversation 
lost its general tone, Marjorie mentioned the matter 
to John. He listened intently to her story, regard¬ 
ing it seriously, secretly flattered that she confided 
in him, and turned to him for advice. 

“What do Mr. and Mrs. Andrews think of it?” 
he asked, when she had finished. 

“I don’t believe they have given it much thought,” 
she replied. “They just praised Daisy for her kind- 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


27 


ness, and I think, secretly smiled at her impetuos¬ 
ity.” 

“It is a big job,” remarked John, deliberately. 
“Especially if the mother dies. It means support 
the child until she is able to earn her own living, 
and that ought not to be until she receives a fair 
education. It comes at a hard time for Daisy, just 
when she needs a start herself.” 

“Oh, Daisy can’t possibly do it herself! The senior 
patrol must come to the rescue. We’ve got to make 
some money somehow!” 

“What chance is there of your getting together?” 
asked John. 

“Very little—we’re awfully scattered. Lily, 
Florence, and Mae are here in New York in the 
summer; Doris will be married and be living in 
Philadelphia I guess, since Roger comes from there; 
and the rest of us—Alice, Daisy, Ethel and I are 
all scattered in small towns.” 

“What was that you just said?” cried John. 
“About Doris and Roger being engaged?” He 
stopped eating, and looked at Marjorie in amaze¬ 
ment. 

“Yes, it was in the papers last night,” replied 
Marjorie. “I’m sure your mother must have 
noticed it.” 

“Aren’t you talking about the engagement?” in- 


28 


THE GIKL SCOUTS’ 


terrupted Lily, from the other side of the table. '‘I 
was so afraid you’d forget to tell John!” 

“They’ve had weightier matters to discuss,” 
teased Dick. “I’ve no doubt they’ve been deciding 
the fate of the nation. Has your subject been pro¬ 
hibition, or the League of Nations?” 

“Nothing like that,” laughed Marjorie. “Only 
Girl Scouts. And we haven’t finished, either!” 

“Well, that can wait till later,” said Dick, “We 
want to hear all the gossip now.” 

At any other time Marjorie would have been only 
too glad of the chance to discuss such an interesting- 
topic as the engagement of one of her dearest 
friends, but now she was anxious to get down to 
the other matter. It was so essential that she have 
some more or less definite scheme to lay before the 
members of the senior patrol on the morrow, for it 
was unlikely that she would have another such op¬ 
portunity to talk to them all together. She must 
not disappoint Daisy. 

But she found herself unable to return to the sub¬ 
ject until they were on their way to the theatre. 

“Can’t you suggest anything?” she asked, abrupt¬ 
ly, without even explaining her question to John. 

The young man shook his head sadly. 

“No, because the usual money-making schemes 
like entertainments, bazaars, dances, food sales, all 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


29 


need people to work them up. And not enough of 
you live in the same place.” 

“No—but can’t you think of something else” 
pleaded Marjorie. 

“Well, you wouldn’t want to sell things—peddle 
from door to door—would you ? Or take orders for 
magazines, or something like that?” 

Marjorie shook her head. “No, I’m afraid not,” 
she said. 

They had reached the theatre now, and both felt 
any further discussion would be out of place, in def¬ 
erence to the other two members of the party. So 
John made the only offer he could think of under 
the circumstances: to put the proposition up to his 
mother and to ask for her assistance. Marjorie ap¬ 
peared to be greatly encouraged by the idea. 

“But tell her to think fast,” she added; “and I’ll 
rely upon her!” 

Then she gave herself up to the enjoyment of the 
evening. 


30 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


CHAPTER III. 

THE ENGAGEMENT SHOWER. 

Lily and Marjorie slept late again the following 
morning. Mrs. Andrews had assured them that 
there was nothing for them to do in preparation for 
the luncheon, except to be ready to receive the guests 
when they arrived. 

Both girls had selected more or less elaborate cos¬ 
tumes—sleeveless models of georgette and chiffon— 
and were dressing with the utmost care. For what 
could possibly be more important than the celebra¬ 
tion of an engagement of one of their number ? 

“Doesn’t it sort of make you feel old, Lil?” asked 
Marjorie, as she applied the final touches of powder 
to her nose. “I mean the idea of one of our bunch 
getting married?” 

“Yes,” agreed Lily. “I had been thinking of that 
sort of thing as in the future for us, and here we 
are in the midst of it.” 

“The only thing is—Doris is so awfully young. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


31 


Most American girls don’t get married in their 
teens, you know.” 

“Well, I certainly hope you won’t, Marj!” re¬ 
marked Lily. “I’d never go back to college without 
you.” 

“Don’t you worry about that!” returned her 
chum, laughingly. “I’m going to get my degree, 
all right!” 

Mrs. Andrews’s voice from the other end of the 
apartment put a stop to this conversation. She was 
calling to the girls to come and inspect the table. 

As they opened the dining-room door a moment 
later, Marjorie was simply astounded by the beauty 
and elaborateness of the decorations. She had 
never seen anything so lovely before, even within the 
covers of a magazine, and she gazed in speechless 
admiration. 

The general color-scheme was pink—pink roses, 
pink ribbons, pink candles in profusion. A large 
pink silk parasol, filled with flowers, hung by 
streamers from the ceiling, and from each of its 
points a ribbon, tied to a place-card and a bouquet, 
fluttered to a plate at the table. The “shower,” too, 
was literally coming down from the sky, for the 
packages which had been received ahead of time by 
Mrs. Andrews, were wrapped in tissue paper and 
suspended by ribbon from the ceiling to a height a 
little above the parasol in the center. 


32 


THE GIRL SCOUTS* 


‘‘It's gorgeous!” cried Marjorie, in ecstacy. “The 
very prettiest thing I’ve ever seen! Doris will re¬ 
member it for the rest of her life.” 

“I’m glad you like it,” smiled Mrs. Andrews. “Is 
there anything you could suggest?” 

“No, it’s perfect as it is!” replied Marjorie. “I 
sort of feel as if we oughtn’t to disturb it by eating 
luncheon here.” 

“Yes, suppose we eat in the kitchen,” suggested 
Lily. “And just come in here to admire the table!” 

“Now Lil, don’t get sarcastic! Tell me, does 
Doris have the slightest idea ?” 

“No, she thinks it’s just a luncheon for you. 
Though why I should invite Marie Louise Harris, a 
girl whom we scarcely know—ought to set her won¬ 
dering. But you know Doris doesn’t wonder much 
—she just accepts things. You couldn’t fool Ethel 
Todd, for instance!” 

“Girls,” interrupted Lily’s mother, “I just heard 
the doorbell—it may be some of your guests. Don’t 
you think you had better go and receive them ?” 

The girls ran off and found the butler guiding 
Doris and Marie Louise Harris into the drawing¬ 
room. 

“Congratulations, Doris!” they both cried imme¬ 
diately, embracing her affectionately. “We saw it 
in the paper—picture and all—night before last!” 

Doris blushed becomingly. 


Vacation ' adventures 33 

“And I did keep it a surprise till then, didn’t I ?” 
she asked triumphantly. “Of course Marie Louise 
knew it, and one or two of the girls I see every day; 
but I don’t think any of the senior patrol members 
had the slightest suspicion!” 

Lily turned around and winked cautiously at Mar¬ 
jorie; the surprise was going to work beautifully. 

“I thought it might shower,” remarked Marie 
Louise, nonchallantly, “so I brought an umbrella.” 

“Yes, wasn’t that crazy!” said Doris, missing the 
point entirely. “I never saw a clearer day.” 

“I think it was exceedingly wise,” asserted Lily; 
►“one can never tell when there will be a shower 
now.” With difficulty, she restrained a smile. 

“I know they always say there is a lot of rain in 
'April,” said Doris. “And if one wears one’s best 
clothes—” 

“Why, here are Florence and Daisy!” interrupted 
Lily, rushing forward to greet the new arivals. “And 
if they haven’t brought umbrellas too!” 

“Yes, we thought there might be a shower,” said 
Florence, suppressing a giggle. 

“You girls have me positively scared!” said Doris. 
“I have on a brand new pair of suede slippers—” 

‘Oh, I guess we can scrape up enough for a taxi 
for you, Doris, if the shower lasts,” offered Lily. 
“But it’s my opinion that it will be over before you 
go home.” 


34 


THE GIRL SCOUTS* 


“I hope so !” sighed Doris, still unsuspecting. 

When Mae, Ethel and Alice finally arrived 
separately, each carrying and umbrella, the girls all 
thought Doris would have to guess the significance. 
But she remained innocent until they went into the 
dining-room. 

Just as she entered the room, Lily suddenly cried 
but: 

“The shower at last!” 

Doris burst into happy laughter, and the other 
* girls crowded about her as Lily gradually let down 
the parcels from the ceiling. 

“Girls, it’s just too wonderful!” she exclaimed, 
Tas she examined one gift after another, her face 
radiant with joy. Marjorie watched her admiringly, 
wondering whether her own future held any such 
thrilling experience for her. 

“But there are lots more than eight gifts here!” 
remarked Doris, overpowered by their lavishness. 

“Yes, lots of the girls’ mothers sent them, and 
even some of the boys,” explained Lily. “And—the 
biggest surprise of all was Mrs. Hadley’s, wasn’t 
it?” 

“It certainly was!” agreed Doris, turning the 
pages of an attractive little book about the Wissa- 
bickon, illustrated by some charming sketches. 
“She must have known we expect to live in Phila¬ 
delphia.” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


35 


“Yes, I told her,” replied Lily, “and she asked 
whether I thought you would like it. I assured her 
you would.” 

“I do—I love it,” said the other. 

The maids began to serve the luncheon, and the 
menu, which was as daintily and as carefully planned 
as the decorations, did not fail to make its appeal to 
the guests. Doris alone was too much excited to 
eat. 

“But I don’t see how you ever guessed it,” she said 
to Lily, as she nibbled at her roll. “It was a secret.” 

“A litle bird told me,” laughed Lily; “but if he 
hadn’t, I could have guesed it from your face, Doris. 
People don’t look so joyous over spring wardrobes 
and summer plans.” 

“Well, maybe you’re right, Lily. I guess I doi 
look rather happy—for I am!” 

“Do tell us when it is coming off, Doris,” begged 
Alice. “And all about it.” 

“The date is set for the first of June, and I’m 
going to have a church wedding—with quite a large 
reception afterwards. You must all come!” 

“Don’t worry!” cried Florence. “We wouldn’t 
miss it for the world!” 

“Marie Louise is to be my maid of honor,” con¬ 
tinued Doris, “and Mae and Marjorie my brides¬ 
maids—at least if Marj will; for I haven’t had a' 
chance to ask her yet.” 


36 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


‘Til be delighted,” said Marjorie, flattered by the 
invitation. 

“And you’re going to live in Philadelphia,” added 
Lily. “That will be nice for Marie Louise, won’t 
it?” 

“It surely will,” replied the girl, an attractive 
young woman with blond hair and blue eyes. She 
looked adoringly at Doris, as if she already regarded 
her as a sister. 

“Have you bought the house yet?” asked Alice. 

“No, Roger is looking all around. We want to 
find a place in the suburbs, not too far away from 
the family.” 

“Imagine the fun of furnishing it—everything all 
new and shining!” exclaimed Mae, rapturously. 
“Making curtains, and draperies, and sofa pillows 
—oh, Doris, no wonder you’re happy!” 

The conversation continued along this line until 
the luncheon was concluded, for all of the girls 
seemed as interested as Doris in the details. Neither 
Marjorie nor Daisy made any mention of the baby 
until they found themselves together on the big 
divan in the reception room. 

“How is Betty?” asked Marjorie, turning eager¬ 
ly to her companion. “Pve been dying to ask, but 
couldn’t make an opportunity without seeming too 
abrupt.” 

“She’s wonderful—gaining every day!” replied 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


87 


Daisy, enthusiastically. “Florence’s mother got a 
pair of scales, and we weighed her. And a friend is 
going to lend us a coach, so she can get out every 
day.” 

“Is she still awfully cute?” 

“Cuter than ever! Oh, Marj, you just ought to 
see her in her bath!” 

“And—and what is the news of the mother?” 
Marjorie put the question falteringly, as if she al¬ 
most dreaded the answer. 

“She’s still alive—and apparently doing all right. 
They are expecting to operate, and if she gets 
through the operation there is some chance of her 
living. But it will be long and slow. 

“And meanwhile she will need money,” added 
Marjorie. “Well, Daisy, we’ve just got to get it, 
somehow!” 

“Have you thought of any plan?” 

“No, not yet. I talked the thing over with Lily 
and John Hadley—he and Dick Roberts were here 
for dinner last night—but nobody could suggest a 
thing. Still, John promised to consult his mother, 
and you know she’s pretty clever about things like 
that. She’s done a lot of social work.” 

“Wasn’t it sweet of her to send Doris that book ?” 
remarked Daisy. “By the way, I wanted to see it.” 

Strolling to the table where Doris had brought 
her presents, Daisy picked up the book and carried 


33 


TOE GIRL SCOUTS* 


it over to where Marjorie was sitting. Idly they 
turned the pages together. 

“It certainly is a picturesque spot,” observed Mar¬ 
jorie, charmed by the sketches of the historic creek 
and the old buildings in its vicinity. “I wish I could 
see it.” 

“We’ll all have to visit Doris after she gets 
settled,” said Daisy. “A little reunion for the senior 
patrol.” 

“Daisy!” cried Marjorie, abruptly. “I have it— 
an inspiration! Why not get permisison to run a 
little tea-room in one of these historic places along 
the Wissahickon—all summer—taking turns in 
managing it! We could support Betty!” 

“Marvellous!” cried Daisy, so loud that the other 
girls all stopped talking to inquire what had brought 
forth the exclamation. 

It was then that Daisy told them of her adventure 
—of the errand upon which Mrs. Evans had sent 
Florence and herself; of the finding of the sick wo¬ 
man and the temporary adoption of the baby, and 
of her promise for its future if the mother should die. 
Before the girls could even ask her any ques¬ 
tions, Marjorie followed her explanation with a re¬ 
cital of her own newly thought of plan. 

“But you’d never get permission to use the Park, 
or any of those buildings,” said Ethel, who always 
saw the practical side of every undertaking. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


39 


“The Washington Girl Scouts did something of 
the sort,” replied Marjorie. “And made a success 
of it, too!” 

“But are we old enough ?” asked Florence. 

“Yes, for I’m sure Mrs. Hadley would help us. 
She lives in Philadelphia now, you know.” 

“And then I could chaperone you,” laughed 
Doris; and the girls joined in her merriment at the 
idea of such a slip of a girl acting in that capacity. 

“Really, now, girls, tell me what your plans are 
for the summer and how much time we could count 
on from each of you,” urged Marjorie. 

“I have only two weeks’ vacation, but I’ll give 
you one,” offered Mae, immediately. 

“And I’ll give as much of my daytime as I can 
spare from my housekeeping,” said Doris. 

“You can have my whole summer!” cried Daisy, 
generously. 

“And mine!” added Alice. 

“And a good part of mine!” put in Ethel. 

“How about you, Lil?” asked Marjorie, hope¬ 
fully. 

“I don’t know—part, anyway. It will depend up¬ 
on father and mother. But I’m pretty sure dad will 
put up the capital to start us off.” 

“Oh, that’s great!” exclaimed Marjorie. “Then 
it’s settled. I’m going to write to Mrs. Hadley to¬ 
night.” 


40 


THE GIEL SCOUTS’ 


Neither Marie Louise nor Florence had said any¬ 
thing during this time, the former because she did 
not consider it her place to intrude, the latter because 
she was determined to maintain the attitude of 
scornful indifference which she had adopted at first. 
But now Florence felt a little embarrassed because of 
her own silence; and decided to turn the conversa¬ 
tion by teasing Marjorie. 

“I see why it appeals to Marj!” she remarked, 
significantly. “She’ll be able to see John Hadley 
every single evening all summer!” 

But Marjorie was ready with a retort in her own 
defence. 

“Daisy,” she said, appealing to the girl by her 
side, “I call upon you to witness the fact that I was 
just as anxious to do something for the baby at the 
beginning, before I ever thought of Philadelphia, as 
I am now. Isn’t that true ?” 

“It certainly is!” replied Daisy, staunchly. 

“May I offer a suggestion?” asked Lily. “Let 
each girl be responsible for little Betty’s supoprt for 
one week, after Daisy goes back to school, to carry 
her expenses until we get the tea-room running. 
What do you say?” 

All the girls, even Florence Evans, assented im¬ 
mediately to this proposition, and then Marie Louise 
timidly made her offer. 

“If Marjorie succeeds,” she said, “how would you 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


41 


like to have our house for the summer—to live in, 
I mean; for you wouldn’t want to live at a tea-house. 
Papa and mamma are going to Maine and Roger 
will be married, so I’m sure you’d be welcome to 
it!” 

“Splendid!” cried Marjorie, delighted at each new 
development in the accomplishment of her plan. 
“And could you be with us, Marie Louise?” 

“Yes, if you didn’t mind having an outsider !” 

“You’re not an outsider any more!” protested 
Lily. “Henceforth we adopt you into the patrol!” 

“But I didn’t even go to Miss Allen’s!” 

“You’ll be Doris’s sister—so that settles it,” con¬ 
cluded Marjorie. “And with all your art-school 
experience, you can probably help us a lot with your 
ideas.” 

“I mean to help you in other ways, too,” said 
Marie Louise. 

The girls continued to discuss the thing until it 
was time to go. 

“I knew it would turn out all right!” said Daisy, 
triumphantly, as she put on her hat. “Because the 
baby’s name is Betty—after Mrs. Remington.” 

“And because Marj is our lieutenant,” added Lily? 
“and ours is a patrol of Girl Scouts that can’t be 
defeated!” 


42 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


CHAPTER IV. 

THE VISIT TO PHILADELPHIA. 

The remaining days of Marjorie’s visit sped by 
with rapidity, packed as they were with engage¬ 
ments and good times. Almost before they realized 
it, she and Lily were back at college again, follow¬ 
ing the old routine. 

But now Marjorie felt that the time could not 
pass too quickly. There were only six weeks left 
before the close of college, but those six weeks made 
her impatient to begin work on her new project. 
If only their plans would materialize ! 

As she had announced at the luncheon, Marjorie 
had written immediately to Mrs. Hadley, soliciting 
her help and advice. The older woman’s reply had 
been most cordial; she had not only promised to 
look about for a suitable site for the tea-house, but 
she had extended a week-end invitation to Marjorie 
to visit her home, so that they might go over the 
ground together. The prospect seemed delightful. 

“What date did Mrs. Hadley set?” asked Lily, 
one afternoon shortly after their return from the 
holiday. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


43 


“The third Saturday in April,” replied Marjorie. 
“A week from tomorrow.” 

Lily referred to the letter she had just finished 
reading. 

“You’re doubly lucky,” she said. “Doris will be 
in Philadelphia all that week, visiting Mrs. Harris 
and buying furniture. I have a letter from her here 
now, telling me that Roger has succeeded in getting 
a house.” 

“That’s great!” cried Marjorie. “But do you 
suppose she’ll have any time to see me?” 

“Surely! Wait till I write to her—I’ll mention 
the fact that you are coming.” 

“Maybe John will drive me out. You know he 
has a Ford now.” 

“That’s nice,” commented Lily, thinking how 
much fun she derived from her Rolls-Royce, and 
making a valiant effort to remember that both were 
cars. “I see you’re in for a good time this summer.” 

“Of course I’m in for a good time,” acknowledged 
Marjorie. “Isn’t it always a good time where Girl 
Scouts are included—especially the Girl Scouts of 
Pansy Troop’s old senior patrol?” 

“Right you are! Still, motors never detract. I 
believe I’ll take mine down if we do live in Marie 
Louise’s house.” 

“Oh, we’ll live there—I’m sure she meant it, or 


44 


THE GIEL SCOUTS’ 


she wouldn’t have offered. I wish I could see it 
while I’m in Philadelphia.” 

“You probably will,” sighed Lily, enviously. 

She did not enjoy the prospect of a week-end alone 
at college while Marjorie was having a good time 
in the city. Nevertheless it was she who kept her 
promise to tell Doris of the intended visit, and as a 
result Marjorie and the Hadleys were invited to din¬ 
ner at the Harris’s on the Saturday evening of the 
former’s stay in Philadelphia. 

It was a mild spring day, and they found the little 
party assembled on the porch as John drove up. 
Marjorie opened the door of the car and jumped 
out eagerly. 

The house was a modern three-story stone one, 
standing alone, and surrounded by just enough 
ground to separate it pleasantly from its neighbors. 
The porch, which was furnished already with wicker 
chairs and grass rugs, appeared most inviting. 

“Oh, this is lovely!” cried Marjorie, as she 
greeted the girls, and was introduced to Mr. and 
Mrs. Harris. 

In a few minutes they all went inside, and Mar- 
joire continued to admire everything in a most in¬ 
formal manner. 

“But I shouldn’t think your father and mother 
would care to turn it over to a mob of school-girls 
for the summer,” she remarked. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


45 


‘Well, we’re not exactly babies,” laughed Marie 
Louise. “And they said they’d be delighted—it’s so 
much nicer than closing it up entirely.” 

“Much nicer for us, of course,” agreed Mar¬ 
jorie. 

“Would you like to see the rest of it?” suggested 
her hostess, politely. 

“Love to!” 

They went from room to room, each one of 
which bore the stamp of newness, the testimony of 
careful usage. The white paint glistened beneath 
the gleam of the electric lights, the curtains and 
draperies appeared to have be£n put up fresh that 
morning, the furniture to have recently arrived from 
the store. Everything was simple, immaculate, and 
in perfect taste; Marjorie could not imagine a more 
delightful house for a group of girls to live in. 

“But how could we ever keep it in such spotless 
order?” she asked, after she had expressed her ap¬ 
preciation of its beauty. “Things will get out of 
place—” 

“Oh, we would keep Mrs. Munsen—our house¬ 
keeper,” explained Marie Louise. “I wouldn’t 
think of attempting it without her. Besides, she’s 
a very superior woman, and could act as a sort of 
chaperone, you know.” 

“Yes; otherwise you couldn’t have the boys come 


4G 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


to see you,” put in Doris, who had accompanied 
them upon their tour of inspection. 

“Don’t judge everybody by yourself, Doris,” 
teased Marjorie. “I don’t expect any callers—I 
mean to give up all my time to the tea-house.” 

“If we get one!” Marie Louise reminded her. 

“Well, here’s hoping!” returned the other. 

The conversation at dinner hinged upon the two 
topics of supreme importance to the little group at 
that time—the wedding, and the operation of the 
tea-house. Sometimes it was one, sometimes the 
other ; once in a while Mr. and Mrs. Harris, or Mrs. 
Hadley would introduce a subject of general interest, 
only to find that it was immediately dropped by the 
young people for their more personal affairs. At 
last they abandoned their attempts in amusement, to 
follow the course of least resistance. 

Mr. Harris suggested a fire in the fire-place after 
dinner, as the night was rather chilly, and while 
John helped him to make it, the two older women 
and Marjorie and Marie Louise started to play 
bridge. Off in a shadowy corner of the room sat 
the lovers, whispering intimately together over the 
plans for their new home. 

In spite of her interest in the game, however, 
Marjorie found it impossible to keep from talking. 
Every few minutes she felt that she simply had to 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


47 


make a remark or to ask a question relative to the 
project that was uppermost in her mind. 

‘‘You’re going with us tomorrow, aren’t you?” 
she asked Marie Louise, in an interval between 
hands. 

“Going where ?” inquired the other, as she shuffled 
the cards. 

“On our search for the tea-house, of course, John 
is going to drive us up around the Wissahickon, and 
along the outskirts of the Park, to look for some 
picturesque barn or old mill.” 

“I’d be delighted!” cried Marie Louise, joyfully. 
She was as much interested in the undertaking as if 
she had been an original member of the famous 
patrol. 

“Aren’t you going to invite Doris?” remarked 
John, in a bantering tone; for he knew, as did every¬ 
one else in the room, how slight was the probability 
that she would accept. 

“Why certainly!” replied Marjorie, with a sly 
twinkle in her eye. “Too bad there isn’t room for 
Roger!” 

“Here!” protested Roger. “I’m not going to 
stand for that. I—” 

“Well, we’ll excuse you this time,” laughed Mar¬ 
jorie. 

“Tell us about your house, old man,” suggested 
John; “before you get absorbed again.” 


48 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“Nothing much to tell,” replied Roger. “Just an 
ordinary two-story bungalow type, about as big as a 
pumpkin-shell. ‘He put her in a pumpkin-shell, and 
there he kept her very well!’ But wait till it’s 
all furnished.” 

“And how are you getting along?” inquired Mrs. 
Hadley. 

“Beautifully!” answered Doris, her eyes shining 
with anticipation. “We’re going to have it all fixed 
and ready for ourselves when we come home.” 

“Doesn’t it sound too funny to hear Doris talk¬ 
ing about ‘coming home’—to her own home!” 
laughed Marjorie. “And such a short time ago we 
were getting ready for that dance where she and 
Roger met each other. In fact, I feel responsible 
for this match. It was really all my doing—” 

“Jack wouldn’t agree to that!” interrupted John. 
“He always claims the credit for himself.” 

“They’re both wrong!” put in Marie Louise. 
“For I met Doris at a tea, and would have invited 
her home with me, for Roger’s sake as well as my 
own, if she had never met him any other way!” 

“I suppose I had nothing at all to do with it,” 
remarked Roger, meekly; but a timid glance from 
Doris assured him that he was the only one who 
mattered. 

In spite of the enjoyable evening they were hav¬ 
ing, the guests departed early; for Marjorie insisted 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


49 


that they would have a strenuous day of house-hunt¬ 
ing before them on the morrow. She warned Marie 
Louise to be ready by ten o’clock in the mroning. 

The following day, however, Marjorie was up at 
dawn, and in her impatience to begin, she telephoned 
Marie Louise at eight o’clock. A surprised and 
sleepy voice answered her at the other end of the 
wire, and it became rather indignant when Marjorie 
begged its owner to be ready an hour earlier. 

“Nine o’clock! I can never be ready by then. 
Why, I’m still in bed!” 

“Oh, come on!” coaxed Marjorie. And in the end 
she had her way. 

John, much amused by Marjorie’s superabundance 
of energy, and under the spell of her enthusiasm, was 
perfectly willing to forego his customary Sunday¬ 
morning sleep. 

Promptly at nine o’clock they drove up to the 
Harris’s door and found Marie Louise finishing a 
hasty breakfast. Now that she was thoroughly 
awake, she too was anxious to start, and climbed in¬ 
to the car talking volubly. 

It was but a few minutes’ ride from the Harris’s 
to the park, which they entered upon a highway ex¬ 
tending along one of the smaller streams that joined 
the Wissahickon. Majorie, who had read and 
heard much about the natural beauty of the famous 
stream, was entranced as she beheld it. She clapped 


50 


THE GIRL SCOUTS' 


her hands in delight, and kept exclaiming and point¬ 
ing out objects of beauty and interest. 

“But the houses—where are the houses ?” she 
asked. 

John explained to her that they were in park ter¬ 
ritory, and that there were no houses, except a few 
notable ones, and the tiny shelters used by the park- 
guards. 

“The places you read about are mostly farther up 
the stream, where automobiles are not allowed. 
Only pedestrians, or riders and drivers of horses, 
are permitted.” 

The look of dejection in poor Marjorie’s face was 
pitiful to see. John realized that she had set her 
heart on the Wissahickon for a location; the knowl¬ 
edge had given him considerable concern; and while 
he had been aware all the time of the impossibility 
of such a thing, he had not the courage to disillusion 
her, preferring rather that she should see for her¬ 
self. 

They went along the river-drive, Marjorie silent 
and apparently lost in thought. It was John’s pur¬ 
pose to allow her to collect herself before suggesting 
a plan he had in mind. Without seeming to turn 
back, he followed the winding roads which eventual¬ 
ly brought them back in the direction from which 
they had come. Marjorie recognized the landmarks. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


51 


and coming out of her reverie, looked inquiringly 
up at him. 

“Yes, we are going back again/' he said, under¬ 
standing her look. “I’m afraid there isn't much that 
would interest us in this neighborhood. You can 
see for yourself the impossibility of locating around 
here. Some day we will come without the car, and 
walk up the creek to see some of the places you had 
in mind. But really, Marj, they are nothing more 
than ruins that you couldn’t possibly use; and the 
few that are habitable are at present occupied and 
utterly impracticable for a tea-house." 

As John paused for breath he saw the tears gather 
in the girl’s eyes. 

“Please don't be discouraged!" he exclaimed, 
hastily, taking one hand from the wheel for an in¬ 
stant, and pressing hers reassuringly. “I have a 
plan in mind: but I want you to see for yourself." 

“I thought it would be so lovely to be on the 
Wissahickon!" insisted the disappointed girl. 

“So it would," agreed John; “but perhaps not so 
profitable. Don't you see, you must be on a much 
travelled road, one used by automobilists, to make 
the thing go. Most of the walkers and horsemen 
are out for exercise; they go home for their luncheon 
or their tea. And then, yours is a summer project; 
if you were to choose an obscure location, no matter 
how lovely, it would take time before your place be- 


52 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


came known. I may seem awfuly practical about it 
all, but the fact remains—it’s the hungry people you 
must catch.” 

“I guess you’re right,” laughed Marjorie. “But it 
seems utterly hopeless to me now, for the first time. 
What do you suggest?” 

“Valley Green,” replied John. “Let’s go there 
and stay for lunch.” 

They left the park and approached the vicinity of 
the famous road-house by a roundabout v:ay. John 
drew the car up to the roadside as they reached the 
park boundary again; and they proceeded on foot 
along the narrow path by the creek side until they 
reached the bridge above Valley Green, where they 
crossed over. 

“I never saw a more delightful place!” exclaimed 
Marjorie, when she caught a glimpse of the lovely 
old house among the trees by the roadside. “Can we 
have lunch on that nice shady porch? And look 
at the ducks! And swans, too! Aren’t they beauti¬ 
ful?” 

John saw that they were all comfortably seated, 
and then went inside to arrange for luncheon. In 
several minutes he returned, laughing. 

“I guess they think we’re crazy for wanting to 
have the lunch out on the porch—just as if it were 
really summer.” 

“Oh!” cried Marjorie, suddenly becoming con- 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


53 


siderate, and turning to Mrs. Hadley, “I never 
thought to ask you whether you objected. If it’s 
too cool—” 

“No, I think it will be very comfortable,” smiled 
the other. “Don’t think of changing for me.” 

“Then we can watch the swans, and hear the 
water bubbling against the rocks, and hear the birds 
—haven’t you noticed them?—and just have a jolly 
time all around.’’ 

John beamed to see Marjorie happy again; it was 
so unusual to see her otherwise that her former de¬ 
pression had been the more noticeable. Before long 
a waitress appeared and commenced laying a cloth 
upon one of the round tables. She was young, rosy- 
cheeked, and wore a freshly starched apron and a 
dainty white cap. 

Marjorie took in all these details with thoughtful 
eyes. Never before, she realized, had she noticed 
just how a waitress should act. 

“Before long,” she thought, “I’ll be doing the 
same thing. I wonder how it will feel?” And she 
laughed aloud, drawing the attention of the others 
suddenly to herself. 

“I was just thinking, Marie Louise, that before 
long we’ll be serving luncheon to perfect strangers 
ourselves.” 

“That’s funny!” chuckled John. “I was just 
thinking that myself. I was trying to picture you. 


54 


THE GIEL SCOUTS 5 


Marjorie, with one of those little white affairs on 
your head, and an apron around your waist.” 

“Well, sir? And how shall I look?” asked the 
girl. 

“Oh—very nice!” stammered John, blushing 
furiously, and glancing slyly in embarrassment at 
his mother and Marie Louise, as they all laughed 
at his confusion. 

“Let’s go sit at the table,” suggested Marjorie, 
somewhat confused herself. “I want to see just 
how it’s done.” 

As they left their seat beneath the trees, and took 
places at the table, the maid reappeared with a 
tray. 

“I never thought to consult you ladies about what 
to order,” John apologized; “so I hope you’ll find 
these things to your liking.” 

“This toast is delicious,” announced Marjorie. 

“And the chicken-salad looks most inviting. Oh, 
it is a weakness of mine!” commented Marie Louise. 

“Gracious!” exclaimed Mrs. Hadley, as the wait¬ 
ress appeared again bearing a fluffy omelette and a 
plate of hot rolls. “The boy must think we are 
ravenous!” 

“I wanted to please everyone, and I thought if I 
ordered two or three things, I might hit upon some¬ 
thing you all liked. It’s been a long time since we 
had breakfast, you know—” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


55 


“All except Marie Louise!” put in Marjorie. 

“Early for me, however!” answered the accused. 
“And I am ravenous!” 

“Then you’ve done very well!” said Marjorie, 
turning her gaze upon John, who sat next to her, 
and who smiled happily at her. 

“If you two will just stop flirting for a minute, 
and attend to your lunch,” remarked Marie Louise, 
“I think you will find this omelette delicious!” 

“My dear!” exclaimed Marjorie, indignantly; and 
then she laughed. 

John said nothing; he only blushed again. But 
he had a happy, satisfied feeling inside somewhere 
—happy because Marjorie was vivacious again; 
satisfied because, ever since he had discouraged her 
so in the morning, he had felt like a brute; and 
he could now see in her eyes that she bore no re¬ 
sentment. 

“We’ve been making so much noise with our 
laughing we have scared all the birds away!” said 
Marjorie. “How quiet and peaceful it is!” 

They sat in silence while the dishes were being 
removed, and watched the swans gliding majestical¬ 
ly about and curving gracefully their slender necks 
as they dipped their bills into the water. Afar off 
down the road they could hear the hoof-beats of an 
approaching horse. A moment later a young girl 
rode by. 


THE GIRL SCOUTS' 


56 


“Makes me think of last summer when we were 
on the ranch,” remarked John to Marjorie. 

The waitress was placing their dessert before 
them. 

“How wonderful!” cried Marie Louise. “Fresh 
strawberries and cream! It’s just the right dessert 
for this luncheon, and this place. Indeed, you have 
chosen well, John.” 

“And it’s all right for me to say that,” she added, 
in an aside to Marjorie. 

“Have you noticed the china?” asked that person. 
“That is one of the things we will have to give some 
thought to. 

“Then you still hope to find a place?” said Marie 
Louise. 

“Oh, yes. John has a plan in mind. He'll tell 
us when he is ready, I guess.” 

“It's no secret,” said John. “I have in mind a 
place on the Lincoln Highway just above the park. 
In my estimation it's ideally situated; for all auto- 
mobilists entering the park from that locality have 
to use that road. It belongs to a friend of mine. 
Edward Scott, who is in Europe. We grew up to¬ 
gether—went to the same schools when we were 
kids; and while I was at prep school, they moved 
from our neighborhood because his father built the 
house I spoke of. Of course we didn’t see much of 
each other while I was away at school—Ned went to 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


57 


a prep here in this city and entered the University 
of Pennsylvania when I entered Princeton. I 
wanted him to go with me, but his father had his 
mind set on Penn, because he had gone there. Even 
while we were apart all that time, we kept in close 
touch—wrote to each other at least once a week— 
and still do, though he is in England. 

“Well, to make a long story short, towards the 
end of his freshman year, Ned’s father died; and 
about two weeks after that, his mother followed 
him. The blow was almost too much for poor Ned. 
He went back to college, however, and his maiden- 
aunt came to live with him. She was only there a 
little over a month, and she too died. He couldn’t 
stand that house any longer; so he packed up, stored 
all the furniture, closed the house, and went to 
Europe for the summer. In the fall he entered Ox¬ 
ford. The last time he wrote he said he liked it so 
well he didn’t know when he would come back. Not 
until he completes his course, at any rate; and after 
that he hopes to travel for a while. Luckily, his 
father left him piles of money. He has nothing to 
come home for; he’s the last of his family.” 

“How tragic!” exclaimed Marjorie. “Poor fel¬ 
low!” 

“I’m surprised that he hasn’t sold or rented the 
house,” said Marie Louise. 

“He did mention it, but decided he’d hold it for 


58 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


awhile, in case he should suddenly want to come 
back again, and also because it's a valuable property, 
and it would pay to hold it. 

“Now, since the place is there and no one is using 
it, I'm sure Ned will let us have it. I've already 
written to him, and he is to cable his reply, ‘Yes’ or 
‘No’ and the amount of the rent. There is nothing 
to do but to wait for his answer.” 

“I thought you had something up your sleeve, 
John Hadley,” cried Marjorie. “Oh, it's too won¬ 
derful! When should you hear?” 

“In a day or so.” 

“Can we see it ?” 

“From the outside.” 

Upon learning this, Marjorie was anxious to be 
off again. Refreshed bodily by the substantial lunch 
they had eaten, and in spirits by the good news of 
John’s plan, they went back to the machine, and 
after riding about ten minutes, a short distance 
above the park John turned in at an open driveway 
between two hedges. 

“Here we are!” 

The two girls uttered little cries of delight. 

“Why, this is ever so much more lovely than I 
had expected!” said Marjorie. 

“Yes, it’s perfect!” agreed Marie Louise. 

A stone house with white woodwork and green 
shutters stood before them. It was not a very large 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


59 


house, yet it appeared roomy. Like the ground 
which it occupied, it was wide, rather than deep, 
so that the greater part faced the road. The hos¬ 
pitable double doors and spreading fan-light above 
them gave promise of a wide hallway within. Ex¬ 
tending across the entire front and along each side 
ran a broad covered porch, an ideal place for serving 
tea in hot weather; and the windows, which were 
boarded up, reached the floor. A short distance in 
the rear stood a combination stable and garage. 

Marjorie took in the details with sparkling eyes, 
noticing how admirably situated it was for their 
purpose. The curving gravel driveway with a 
double entrance would permit motors to enter and 
leave without turning around; the house was close 
enough to the highway to be in evidence, but not 
too close for privacy. The vines and shrubs grow* 
ing about the porch, which before very long would 
be in leaf again, would give just the proper amount 
of obscurity. Large shade trees were numerous at 
each side and to the rear; but the front, from the 
drives to the road, was an expanse of lawn, un¬ 
broken save by a few shrubs and flower beds. On 
the right a continuation of the drive ran back to 
the garage; on the left, a rose arbor led down to a 
rustic summer-house in the middle of the lawn. In 
summer, when the foliage became profuse, it would 
be impossible for anyone seated on the porch to see 


60 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


the neighboring houses on either side; and the view 
across the highway was of the gardens of a large 
private estate. 

Marjorie turned to John and said, with a laugh: 

“And to think that the most I expected was some 
old barn! This is heavenly; so nice, in fact, that I 
can’t believe we shall ever get it.” 

They sat in the machine and discussed their plans 
until a chilliness in the air warned them that it was 
getting late, and time for them to be starting home¬ 
ward. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


61 


CHAPTER V. 

THE WEDDING. 

Marjorie returned to college bubbling over with 
the plans for the new enterprise. Fortunately, she 
found Lily in her room, and into her interested ears 
she poured the details. 

“John is going to let me know as soon as he hears 
anything definite/’ she concluded, as she finished her 
description of the attractive place they hoped to rent. 
“In the meantime I want to study up all I can about 
tea-room management. I wonder whether there are 
any books on the subject.” 

“I guess so,” said Lily; “but not in the college 
library. Suppose I write to mother; and ask her to 
look in some of the New York book-stores?” 

“Wonderful!” cried Marjorie, delighted to have 
her chum enter so heartily into her plans. “Just the 
thing! Oh, Lil, what would I ever do without 
you ?” 

“I’m just as thrilled over the prospect of it as 
you are,” replied her room-mate. “Only I’m afraid 
my motives aren’t so altruistic. It’s more because 


62 


THE GIEL SCOUTS’ 


I’m glad of a chance to spend the summer with the 
old bunch than because I’m anxious to help the 
woman, I’m afraid.” 

“Oh, we’ll have lots of summers together,” said 
Marjorie. “But this really is going to be an un¬ 
usual experience.” 

“I wish I believed the first thing you said,” re¬ 
turned Lily. “I feel it in my bones that now that 
Doris has started it, we’ll probably lose one girl 
every year, at least. And you can’t tell me it’s ever 
the same after they’re married!” 

“Not exactly. But we still have Doris.” 

“Never to go away with us again in the summer 
time, or to do anything much where men aren’t 
included. We’ve lost her—and when we lose you, 
I don’t know what I’ll do!” 

“Well, you needn’t worry about that, yet,” 
laughed Marjorie. “I intend to stay single long 
enough to finish college, anyway.” 

“But you never can tell what a summer will do,” 
sighed Lily. “Especially when you live in the same 
city with John Hadley—and see him every day!” 

“Which I don’t intend to do. We’re going to be 
too busy, Lil, to have callers all the time. I want 
to make five hundred dollars this summer, besides 
paying back the money we borrow from your 
father.” 

“I hope we do. Now, let’s forget the tea-room 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


63 


for a while, and talk about the wedding. Did you 
decide upon your dresses ?” 

“Yes; Mae and I are going to wear pink flowered 
georgettes, with very pale green hats of plain 
georgette. And I think Marie Louise is wearing all 
pale green.” 

“And Doris—does she want a train?” 

“I suppose so; but I know she can’t have one. 
I really didn’t hear the particulars about her dress. 
But what difference does it make—Doris Sands 
would look lovely in anything!” 

“She certainly would,” agreed Lily. 

The girls turned to their studies, but both found 
it hard to concentrate that evening. College, which 
up to this time had seemed wonderful to Marjorie, 
appeared dull and uninteresting in comparison with 
the two great events that loomed before her in 
the near future. Sh_ wished she could skip all the 
intervening days between then and the first of June, 
and be about to start on her new venture. 

John Hadley’s promised letter, however, did not 
come so soon as she had expected, and she began to 
grow impatient of the delay. Each afternoon, after 
the last mail was in, an overwhelming feeling of 
despondency would take possession of her at the 
thought of waiting at least sixteen hours for news. 

On the Saturday afternoon following her visit, 
when she came out of the post-office again empty 


64 


THE GIEL SCOUTS* 


handed, she began to wonder seriously how she 
would ever get through Sunday. She walked slowly 
up to her room and found Lily chatting with Agnes 
Taylor, another member of the freshman class. 

“Marj, what is the matter ?” demanded Lily, im¬ 
mediately. “You look as if you had lost your last 
friend!” 

“Not quite so bad as that,” replied her room-mate, 
making a feeble attempt to smile. “Only I haven’t 
heard about our tea-house yet, and now there won’t 
be a mail until Monday morning.” 

“What tea-house?” asked Agnes, with interest. 

Marjorie explained briefly the scouts’ project for 
the summer, and concluded by saying that they had 
a place in mind which a friend of hers was trying to 
secure for them. 

“And I’m so afraid we’re not going to get it—” 
she was saying, when a sharp knock at the door in¬ 
terrupted her. Lily opened it to find one of the 
maids holding out a telegram. 

“For Miss Marjorie Wilkinson,” she announced. 

“Oh!” gasped Marjorie, dashing forward eager¬ 
ly. “I hope it isn’t bad news.” 

Trembling, she tore open the yellow envelope and 
read the message feverishly. Then a broad smile of 
content spread over her face. 

“Listen, girls!” she cried, exultantly.; 


> VACATION ADVENTURES 


66 


« ' “Miss Marjorie Wilkinson: 

“Cable rec’d. House yours. Rent free. 

“John Hadley.” * 

“Isn’t that marvellous ?” 

Marjorie began to execute a happy little dance 
about the room, every now and then picking up the 
telegram to re-read the message, and to make sure 
that it was really true. It was some minutes before 
the other girls could bring her down to earth and 
make her talk sensibly. Finally Agnes, who was a 
Philadelphia girl, asked her the exact location of 
the house in question, and succeeded in getting a 
rational reply. 

“I believe I know the very house you mean,” she 
said, after Marjorie had described it and told of its 
location. “And to whom does it belong ?” 

“To a young man named Edward Scott—an Ox¬ 
ford student,” replied Marjorie. 

“O—oh!” remarked Agnes, very knowingly. 

“What’s the matter, Agnes?” demanded Marjorie. 
“Do you know anything about the place? We 
haven’t been inside—is it all right.” 

“It’s perfectly charming, as far as I know.” 

“Then why the mysterious oh?” 

Agnes smiled slightly; it was fun to play upon 
the girls’ curiosity. 

“Didn’t four or five people in that family die, one 
right after the other?” she asked. 


THE GIKL SCOUTS’ 


‘'Not four or five— three!” corrected Marjorie. 
“Why?” 

“And they all died in that house ?” 

“Yes, I guess they did,” admitted Marjorie. 

“Oh!” exclaimed Lily, suddenly jumping at the 
inference. “There's something peculiar about the 
house ? It's—haunted ?” 

“Well, that's what they say, anyhow. For a while 
after the owner went abroad, the agent tried to rent 
the place, I believe, but the story got around— 
exaggerated, of course—and the prospective tenants 
were scared off. And then they gave up trying to 
rent it. You better be careful about sleeping there 
at night—I understand all the deaths took place in 
the small hours of the morning.” 

“Marj,” said Lily, affected in spite of herself by 
the story, “don't you think maybe it would be better 
to hunt another place?” 

“No, certainly not!” laughed Marjorie, greatly 
amused at the whole idea. “But there is no danger 
of our sleeping there, for we have a lovely house to 
live in during the summer.” 

If Agnes's story made any impression upon either 
of the girls at the time, it was entirely forgotten 
when the wedding drew near. Indeed, even the tea¬ 
room and Daisy’s baby were effaced from Marjorie’s 
mind by the overpowering importance of this great 
event. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


67 


During the last two weeks of May a number of 
social events had been planned in Doris's honor, 
but Marjorie had been able to attend only a few— 
those which were scheduled for week-ends; for col¬ 
lege activities and studies would not allow her much 
free time. The one function, however, to which she 
had been looking forward with as keen anticipation 
as the wedding itself—the dinner to the bridal party 
—had been arranged for a time that would be con¬ 
venient for her. 

It was a small affair at Doris's home, just outside 
of New York City. Besides Mr. and Mrs. Sands, 
there were the four girls—Doris, Marie Louise 
Harris, Mae Van Horn, and Marjorie; the best man 
—Jack Wilkinson—, the ushers—John Hadley and 
William Warner; and Roger himself. The party it¬ 
self was not elaborate; flowers in the center of the 
table and place-cards at the places were the only 
decorations. The conversation was gay and light, 
and yet underneath it all could be perceived the 
solemnity of the approaching occasion. The most 
serious step that two young people can take was 
about to be celebrated. 

IR But though Doris was an only child, and would 
be greatly missed by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. 
Sands had evidently decided to allow no parting sad¬ 
ness to spoil the happiness of these days; and, fol¬ 
lowing their example, everyone adopted am 


68 THE GIRL SCOUTS 

exuberant mood. Doris and Roger were happiest 
of all. 

Marjorie sat next to John Hadley, and he seized 
the first opportunity to speak of the tea-room. 

“Mother has no end of plans,” he said; “and she 
says there’s an awful lot to get ready. So could 
you girls manage to come to Philadelphia as soon 
as college closes, and all pitch in and help?” 

“I’d love to!” cried Marjorie, her eyes sparkling 
with anticipation. “And I guess most of the other 
girls could, too. I don’t think anybody has anything 
much planned for the first part of June.” 

“And bring the capital along, mother said; you 
ought to keep it in a Philadelphia bank, you know.” 

“Naturally. John, do you suppose five hundred 
dollars will be enough?” 

“I don’t think you ought to go in any deeper 
than that—just for a summer,” replied the young 
man, gravely. “It would be too much of risk.” 

“But can we do it for that?” 

“Mother seems to think you can. You can go 
over it thoroughly with her. And that reminds me, 
is the baby’s mother still alive?” 

“Yes, she had the operation and is still living. 
And Daisy got a good woman to take care of Betty 
while she is at school.” 

The conversation grew general again, and Mar¬ 
jorie forgot the tea-room temporarily in the gaiety 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


69 


that followed. The rest of the evening was given 
to dancing; but when the girls separated they re¬ 
minded each other that their next meeting would 
be of a very different nature—the solemnization of 
the marriage ceremony in Doris’s church. 

As this was the first wedding among any of her 
own friends, it was Marjorie’s first opportunity to 
be a bridesmaid. She kept telling herself that she 
was not an important person, that no one in the 
congregation would have eyes for anyone but the 
bride; yet, as she preceded Marie Louise and Doris 
down the aisle, she was trembling so that she could 
hardly walk. She wondered how it would feel to be 
fhe bride, to exchange those solemn promises with a 
man who had once been only a casual acquaintance. 
She glanced surreptitiously at Doris out of the 
corner of her eye, but the girl seemed calm and ab¬ 
solutely at her ease; evidently her great happiness 
had wiped away all her former nervousness. 

Marjorie breathed a sigh of relief when the cere¬ 
mony was finally over, when they had all reached 
the seclusion of the vestry-room once more, and 
everybody was kissing and congratulating Doris at 
once. She was glad too to find the ensuing recep¬ 
tion informal; indeed it seemed more like a delight¬ 
ful party at which all her old friends were present 
than the stately occasion she had been dreading. 


70 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


Doris, too, laughed and talked a great deal, and 
even made a pretense at eating. 

“The really exciting thing,” she said to Marjorie, 
in an interval after supper, before the dancing be¬ 
gan, “is to see who catches my bouquet. I hope it 
is one of our old bunch.” 

“Now, Doris,” remonstrated Marjorie; “we don't 
want too many of our girls to get married.” 

“Oh, I do!” laughed Doris. “Now, I’m going to 
stand over the railing and throw it. Please ask 
Jack to tell everybody to be ready.” 

A mad scramble among the girls followed Jack 
Wilkinson’s announcement, as, almost like children, 
they crowded about the hall. Doris stood on the 
stairs, and, closing her eyes, tossed the beautiful 
bouquet out over the bannister. The girls all raised 
their arms expectantly, but it was Mae Van Horn 
who grasped it in her outstretched hands. A great 
shout arose from all the spectators. 

“So you’re next!” cried Lily, rapturously. “I’m 
so glad!” Then, squeezing Marjorie’s arm, she 
whispered, delightedly, 

“I so didn’t want it to be you! And as you 
walked down the aisle on John Hadley’s arm, every¬ 
body was making guesses!” 

“Oh, Lil!” laughed her chum. “You needn’t 
worry. The flowers are lovely—but I don’t want 
them that badly!” 


VACATION ADVENTURES ^ 71 


CHAPTER VI. 

THE HOUSE-WARMING. 

Marjorie, Ethel, and Marie Louise sat on the 
porch of the latter's home, awaiting the arrival of 
the rest of the girls. Alice Endicott would probably 
come in time for supper, and perhaps Lily Andrews 
and Florence Evans; but Daisy was delaying her 
departure until the last moment so that she might 
spend as long as possible with the baby. 

“Do you know I wish Daisy had planned to bring 
little Betty with her," remarked Marie Louise. “We 
could take turns looking after her, and save the 
money we pay the nurse." 

“We did think of that," said Marjorie; “but the 
thing that decided us against it was the baby's 
mother. She's improving right along now, and is 
able to see Betty on visiting days at the hospital, so 
it seemed too cruel to take her so far away. And 
then after awhile Mrs. Trawle may be able to go 
home and take care of her baby herself." 

“Then our work will be all for nothing?" asked 
Marie Louise. 


72 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“No, indeed! Mrs. Trawle won’t be strong 
enough to earn any money, if she does live, and will 
need all the help we can give her.” 

“I guess we’re here for the whole summer,” re¬ 
marked Ethel, settling herself comfortably against 
the cushions of the hammock. “But I can’t say 
I’m sorry!” She looked appreciatively towards 
Marie Louise. 

“Well, I’m glad you like it,” returned the latter. 
“And it’s so nice of you all to take me into your 
inmost circle.” 

The click of the iron gate drew the girls’ atten¬ 
tion away from themselves, and they recognized 
Alice and Florence entering. 

“Hello, girls!” cried Alice, half running up the 
pathway. “I’m that glad to see you!” 

“Have you really got a tea-room?” asked Flor¬ 
ence, as if she could not believe in the thing till she 
saw it. “Or are we just here for a good time?” 

“Yes to both!” laughed Marjorie. “Wait till you 
see our tea-house. It can’t be beaten, can it, Marie 
Louise ?” 

“It certainly can’t!” agreed the latter, enthu¬ 
siastically. 

“Your house is perfectly lovely, anyhow,” re¬ 
marked Florence, turning to Marie Louise. “I 
guess we can stand anything with such a delightful 
place to come to at night.” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


73 


“Don’t be so pessimistic, Flos!” reproved Alice. 
“It’s going to be the best summer the patrol has ever 
had!” 

“Yes, and I know something nice about tonight, 
too,” added Ethel. 

“What?” demanded Marjorie, eagerly. 

“Oh, not that John Hadley expects to drive over 
and see you—though he does, of course!” replied 
Ethel. “But something we’ll all enjoy.” 

“Chocolate layer cake, I’ll wager!” put in Marie 
Louise. “I’m sure I smelled one. That reminds 
me, girls, let’s go out in the kitchen and meet Mrs. 
Munsen, our housekeeper. She’s been crazy to see 
you all.” 

“Oh, but wait a minute!” pleaded Marjorie. 
“There’s a car stopping at the gate. It’s probably 
Lily.” 

A moment later the girl ran up the porch steps 
and gredJd them all effusively. Arm in arm they 
made a tour of the house, visiting the kitchen to 
make the acquaintance of that motherly person who 
was to look after them during the coming months; 
then going on to the second floor to see their bed¬ 
rooms. Marjorie and Ethel had already selected one 
together, and Marie Louise still kept her own daintily 
furnished little boudoir, which she was to share with 
Lily. Alice and Florence were assigned to the front 


74 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


room, usually occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Harris, and 
so the remaining one was left for Daisy. 

It was only when they were all seated at the sup¬ 
per table that the new-comers began to ask all sorts 
of questions about the tea-house, which Mar¬ 
jorie and Marie Louise did their best to 
answer. 

“Are we going down to inspect it tonight?” in¬ 
quired Alice, who had shown perhaps the most 
animated interest. 

“Mercy no!” cried Lily. “Don’t forget the ghost 
Agnes Taylor told us about!” 

“What ghost?” demanded two or three girls at 
once. 

“Oh, there’s nothing to it!” replied Marjorie, 
contemptuously. “Just because two or three deaths 
occurred in the house, somebody has to invent the 
story that the place is haunted.” 

“And the ghost comes out only at night,” added 
Lily, in spite of what Marjorie had just said. 

“Then I take it we’re not going down tonight?” 
asked Alice. 

“No, we’re not,” replied Marjorie. “But that 
isn’t the reason; it’s because we all need to rest. 
Then tomorrow we’ll begin in dead earnest. We’re 
to meet Mrs. Hadley there at ten o’clock.” 

“I’d laugh if we didn’t have enough money to 
equip it,” remarked Florence, cynically. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


75 


“Don't worry—we’ll manage somehow!” replied 
Marjorie. “Now, Ethel, tell us what you meant 
about that surprise—the one you spoke of before 
supper!” 

“What surprise?” demanded Lily. 

Ethel smiled mysteriously; it was fun to tease 
these girls because they always responded so 
readily. 

“Oh, I’m not going to tell you—it wouldn’t be a 
surprise then.” She exchanged glances meaningly 
with Mrs. Munsen, who sat at the head of the table, 
and who was evidently in the secret. 

“Just give us a hint, then!” begged Alice. 

“Well, then—I advise that nobody go to bed be¬ 
fore—say half-past eight! You might miss some 
fun!” 

“Don’t count much on me,” remarked Marjorie, 
with a great display of indifference. “I have to go 
over some work with Mrs. Hadley, before our big 
Council of War tomorrow.” 

“Just as you like!” replied Ethel, adopting the 
same tone. 

After supper the girls scattered in all directions. 
Marjorie settled herself at the desk in the living- 
room to go over some accounts; Alice and Florence 
lingered in the dining-room to help Mrs. Munsen to 
clear away the supper; Lily departed to take her 


76 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


roadster to a public garage for the night; and Marie 
Louise and Ethel went out to sit on the porch. 

“We’re the only lazy ones in the whole bunch,” re¬ 
marked Ethel, as she selected a magazine from the 
wicker table and sank into a cushioned seat beside 
it; “but if they only knew it, they aren’t going to 
work long!” 

“Ethel, what do you mean?” asked her com¬ 
panion, as she unwound some tatting from a shuttle 
she took from her pocket. “Please tell me! I won’t 
breathe it to a soul!” 

“Well, we’re going to have some company this 
evening! Besides the Hadleys, I mean!” 

“Oh, now you just have to tell me who! I’m 
awfully curious. It couldn’t be Roger and Doris—• 
no—they’d have let me know if they had changed 
their plans about coming home.” 

“It isn’t Roger and Doris! But that’s all you’ll 
get Out of me! Now, Marie Louise, be a good girl 
and let me read my story. It’s a continued one, and 
this is the last installment.” 

By exerting a huge amount of self-control, Marie 
Louise managed to refrain from asking further ques¬ 
tions until Ethel announced that she was finished, 
and that the growing twilight would prevent her 
from starting another story. 

“Now will you tell me?” asked the younger girl, 
laying aside her fancy work. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


77 


“I don’t need to!” laughed Ethel. “The surprise— 
or part of it—is arriving already!” Nevertheless, 
she whispered something illuminating in the other 
girl’s ear. 

At that moment a young man approached the gate, 
and was opening it while Ethel was speaking. 
Marie Louise regarded him intently, anxious to 
identify him, in spite of the diminishing light. But 
she did not think she had ever seen him before. 

“Dick Roberts!” exclaimed a voice from the door¬ 
way; and as the young man mounted the steps, Lily, 
who had been up in her room ever since her return 
from the garage, stepped out on the porch. 
Smilingly she introduced him to Marie Louise. 

“So this is the surprise you mentioned at supper!” 
she observed to Ethel. “But when did you two see 
each other?” 

“We didn’t!” laughed Dick, with a significant look 
at Ethel. 

“Will you excuse me, Lily, for a few minutes?” 
asked Ethel, as the young people seated themselves. 
“I have a little matter to look after—and you might 
help me, Marie Louise.” 

“Oh, stay!” urged Lily, thinking the excuse was 
only perfunctory. 

“No, really—thanks—but this is important,” said 
Ethel. “I’m sorry—but I’ll see you later.” 


78 


THE GIRL SCOUTS 5 


As soon as she was inside the door, she told Marie 
Louise why she wanted to go. 

“I want to go tease Mar]/' she whispered. “She 
pretended to be so indifferent about seeing John, or 
having company!” 

They walked into the sitting-room, and found her 
still at her desk. 

“Who’s out there on the porch?” asked Marjorie, 
immediately. 

“Just a friend of Lily’s,” replied Ethel, provok- 
ingly. 

“Not John Hadley?” 

“No.” 

“That must be he now!” cried Marjorie, jumping 
up. “I hear voices and steps on the porch.” 

Ethel and Marie Louise stood in full sight of the 
door, and enjoyed Marjorie’s consternation as she 
rushed forward only to be greeted by two strange 
young men. 

“Is Miss Endicott in?” asked the taller, older 
one of the two. 

“Yes, indeed!” replied Marjorie, taking the card 
which was extended towards her. “Won’t you come 
in and sit down ?” 

“And Miss Evans?” asked the other, also produc¬ 
ing a card. 

Ethel and Marie Louise had managed to remain 
concealed in the sitting-room while they were wit- 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


.79 


nessing the situation, and only with a supreme ef- 
fort stifled the giggles which Marjorie’s perplexity 
aroused. By the time Alice and Florence had ap¬ 
peared to greet the young men, the other three girls 
had vanished into the dining-room. 

“So this is your surprise 1” remarked Marjorie. 
“Well, it’s very nice—for them. I suppose Mrs. Had¬ 
ley and I will have to have our conference in the 
dining-room. ,, 

“Oh, your conference can wait!” replied Ethel, 
unconcernedly. 

“There they are now!” interrupted Marjorie, at 
the sound of the door-bell. “I’ll go let them in.” 

But Marjorie was to receive one more surprise be¬ 
fore the Hadleys arrived. The person whom she 
least expected to see stood before her: her own 
Brother Jack! Another young man, whom she im¬ 
mediately recognized as William Warner of the wed¬ 
ding party, was with him. 

“Jack! Whatever are you doing in Philadelphia?” 
she gasped. 

“I have a job here—so I’ll be near you all sum¬ 
mer !” he answered. 

“But what is the idea?” 

“John Hadley and I had a little scheme to work 
out—you’ll hear all about it later.” 

In another moment John and his mother stepped 
up on the porch, and Marjorie realized that the 


THE GIRL SCOUTS* 


gathering, which was no matter of coincidence, but 
a carefully planned party, was complete. She 
directed the company into the sitting-room and 
started the victrola. 

“This is to be your formal house-warming!” an¬ 
nounced John, when the young people were all to¬ 
gether. “A real party—with eats, and dancing, and 
all. But before the fun begins, Jack and I want to 
tell you about a little plan we have up our sleeve.” 

“Go on!” urged Marjorie, eagerly. “I’m pre¬ 
pared for surprises this evening.” 

“Well, it's simply this,” explained John. “We 
fellows knew your capital is pretty limited, and we 
knew too how high labor is. So we figured if you 
girls could come down here two weeks earlier and 
do most of the preparation yourselves, you might use 
some of our help. 

“So we fellows—and by the way, Roger is in on 
this—are banded together to do whatever you want 
the next two weeks. Our time, whenever we can get 
away from our jobs, is at your disposal; also my 
luxurious car—my—er—a—Ford!” 

“Oh, it's too wonderful!” cried Marjorie. “Every¬ 
body seems to help us—first Mr. Scott, then Mr. 
Andrews, Marie Louise and her family—and now 
you people! How can we ever thank you ?” 

“By starting the dancing immediately,” replied 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


81 


Jack, practically. “Marie Louise, I claim your first 
dance.” 

And for the rest of the evening Marjorie and all 
the other girls put aside their responsibilities. 


83 


THE GIRL SCOUTS'/' 


CHAPTER VII. ) 

PREPARATIONS. 

The Scott house was a scene of great activity on 
the morning following the party. John Hadley, 
who took upon himself to assume the leadership of 
the boys, and Jack Wilkinson, an able lieutenant, 
had put their heads together on the way home the 
night before. Before taking leave of the other boys, 
John cautioned them to get excused from work—it 
was Saturday, and a half holiday—and to be on 
hand early. “Wear your old clothes” he warned 
them. Having the keys in their possession, he and 
Jack accompanied by Mrs. Hadley, were the first to 
arrive. Like a good commander, John had planned 
ahead—in his Ford he had a collection of buckets, 
scrub-brushes, brooms, and other implements with 
which to give the place a thorough scouring. The 
other boys, arriving soon after, and seeing the ar¬ 
ray of implements lined upon the porch, realized 
that they had not come to play. 

Consequently, when the girls came to the scene of 
action in Lily’s car about an hour later, they found 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


83 


the work progressing rapidly under the direction of 
Mrs. Hadley. The windows all over the house were 
open wide to admit the air and sunshine. A medley 
of sounds greeted their ears: singing, whistling, the 
boys’ voices calling back and forth in the empty 
house. But over all the swish of the broom and the 
scrub-brush predominated. 

The appearance of the girls caused a momentary 
cessation in the work. John and Jack, who had been 
removing the barricade of boards from the lower 
windows and doors and were storing them in the 
stable, came around to the front of the house; boys’ 
heads appeared at the windows here and there. And 
when Marjorie, who was the first out of the car, 
ran up the porch steps, Mrs. Hadley stepped from 
the doorway to welcome her. Looking inside, the 
girl saw the two new boys, Pierce Ellison and 
Eugene Scofield, grinning out at her, their hands 
laden with soap, cleaning rags, and scrub-brushes. 

“Behold! The Gold Dust Twins!” cried Lily. 

“But you have progressed marvellously!” ex¬ 
claimed Marjorie. 

“Regular Brownies, cleaning up while we slept, 1 * 
said Ethel. 

“Girls, before we do another thing, let’s go on a 
tour of inspection,” suggested Marjorie. “I want 
to see everything.” 


84 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


So they went about examining the house, while 
the boys went back to work again. 

The double doors opened upon a wide central 
hallway, from which the stairway in the rear led to 
the apartments above; on each side was a large, 
high-ceilinged room, with windows extending to the 
floor, and a fire-place in the corner. 

“We must certainly take this room on the left, 
with the side entrance from the garden, for the tea¬ 
room,” remarked Marjorie. “The lay-out could not 
be more suitable. Evidently the Scotts used it for 
their dining-room, for here is a breakfast room and 
kitchen adjoining. We could fix up the living-room 
as a sort of rest-room, where people could sit for 
awhile after having tea.” 

When they passed into the kitchen they examined 
everything with close attention, almost as if they 
were practiced housekeepers. 

“Isn’t it lucky to find a gas stove!” cried Ethel 
joyfully. “Of course it’s fearfully dirty—” 

“But the boys can clean it!” laughed Florence. 
“Isn’t that what you were thinking?” 

“Yes, I guess it was,” admitted the other. 

“But don’t you wish they had left us some pots 
and pans!” sighed Lily, surveying the empty closet 
in dismay. 

“No, because they’d be terribly rusty,” replied 
Marjorie. “But I tell you what I do wish—that 


VACATION ADVENTURES 85 

Doris were home to help us. She could give us so 
many suggestions—and tell us about prices.” 

“I can tell you that much!” remarked Florence. 
“They’re out of sight!” 

“You’re always so optimistic, Flos!” said Alice. 

The girls stepped out on the back porch for a 
minute, and then, returning through the hall, took 
a peep at the cellar. But it appeared dark and for¬ 
bidding. 

“That must be where the ghost lives!” remarked 
Marie Louise, with a shudder. “Don’t let’s go 
down!” 

“Just as you say!” laughed Marjorie. “Now for 
the upstairs.” 

After a brief inspection of the second floor they 
returned to Mrs. Hadley who was waiting for them 
on the porch, with her notebook in hand. They all 
grouped themselves about her on the steps. 

“Do you like it?” she asked, smiling into their 
enthusiastic faces. 

“Adore it!” cried Marjorie, feeling that no words 
could be too superlative. “And when it gets fixed 
up—” 

“Well, that is what we’re here for!” replied Mrs. 
Hadley. “Now let’s get down to business. First 
of all, I think you ought to elect a treasurer—” 

“Oh, we wouldn’t consider anybody but Marj!” 
interrupted Lily. “Isn’t that so, girls ?” 


86 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“It certainly is!” shouted two or three at the 
same time. 

“Then that’s settled,” said the older woman. “I 
do hope you dispose of everything as quickly.” 

“We will!’ returned Alice. “Just watch us!” 

“Well, I have jotted down the things to be con¬ 
sidered, and I thought we might give one responsi¬ 
bility to each girl—and vote her so much money. 
The biggest job of course is furnishing — and 
dishes; then there is decoration—menus, and sign, 
and so forth; then hiring a cook and getting the 
gas and electricity turned on; then advertising; and 
finally, buying the food and supplies. Can anybody 
think of anything else?” 

“I certainly think you have covered everything,” 
said Marjorie, admiringly. “Now—do you think 
five hundred dollars will be enough?” 

Mrs. Hadley did not answer immediately, and the 
girls waited nervously for her opinion. 

“It will have to be,” she said. “In fact, four 
hundred will have to be enough, because you ought 
to keep a hundred in bank, to run on.” 

“But everything is so dreadfully expensive!” 
Florence reminded them again. 

“How many rooms do you plan to furnish?” 
asked Mrs. Hadley. 

“The porch and dining-room with tables and 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


87 


chairs, and the rest-room with wicker furniture and 
grass rugs,” said Marjorie. 

“And that,” observed Ethel, “could use up the 
four hundred alone!” 

“Oh, no!” objected Marjorie. “Surely not! 
We’ll shop around.” 

“A good shingle is expensive, too,” observed Mrs. 
Hadley. “At least, if it is painted to order.” 

“I think I could do that!” offered Marie Louise, 
shyly. “Provided cne of the boys would cut out the 
wood for me.” 

“John will,” said Marjorie. “He loves to do work 
like that.” 

“And you could paint the menu cards, too, 
couldn’t you?” asked Ethel. “It’s wonderful to 
have an artist in the crowd, isn’t it ?” 

They talked for awhile longer, apportioning the 
duties and the money, but deciding to do nothing 
about making purchases until Monday morning; for, 
as Mrs. Hadley reminded them, Saturday was an 
unsatisfactory day to shop. She herself promised to 
interview a cook—a girl named Anna Benton—that 
afternoon; for she wanted to secure her immediately 
before someone else captured her. And, as she as¬ 
sured them, this girl was just the person they 
wanted. 

They found plenty to do over the week-end, and 
enjoyed some delightful rides in both Lily’s and 


88 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


John’s machines, but Marjorie was glad when Mon¬ 
day morning came, that she might go into her work 
in earnest. She and Ethel had been delegated to 
purchase the furniture, and for this purpose had 
been assigned the sum of two hundred dollars. It 
seemed like a fortune to Marjorie. 

“It would be nice if we didn’t have to use it all,” 
remarked Marjorie, as they entered one of the large 
department stores; “so that we could save some for 
flowers. I love to see them in a tea-room.” 

“Yes, so do I,” agreed Ethel. “And the boys 
promised to take care of the garden if we get it 
started.” 

“What’s the idea for the tea-room furniture?” 
asked Marjorie. 

“Oh, painted, of course! Some light color—with 
flower decorations, if possible.” 

“It would be nice if we could get pansies,” re¬ 
marked Marjorie. “Especially since it’s to be called 
Tansy Tea-Room,’ and Marie Louise is using them 
on her shingle and her menu cards.” 

The girls went happily in search of the furniture 
department, and, upon locating it, stepped confident¬ 
ly up to a salesman. He showed them charming 
little breakfast sets of cream, and gray, and canary, 
decorated with dainty bouquets and flower baskets; 
and both girls exclaimed in delight. Marjorie was 
in the act of counting up how many sets they would 


VACATION ADVENTURES 89 


need, when Ethel casually asked the price. To her 
utter dismay they heard that one set alone would 
cost more than they had planned to spend upon the 
entire furnishings. 

“I am afraid it is too expensive,” Marjorie mur¬ 
mured in confusion to the clerk. “We—shall have 
to look elsewhere.” 

When they turned away she was almost in tears. 

“Don’t worry, Marj!” said Ethel, reassuringly. 
“This is one of the most expensive shops in town. 
We’ll try some place cheaper.” 

But though they went from place to place, ex¬ 
amining furniture of cheaper grade, they could not 
find anything to fit in with their pocket-book. At 
last, dismayed and dejected, they returned to the 
house. They found Marie Louise designing menu 
cards at the wicker table on the porch. 

“Did you buy the stores out?” she asked, cheerily. 
“Because Lily and Florence did. I wish you’d see 
the stuff they brought home in Lily’s car from the 
five-and-ten-cent store!” 

“No,” said Marjorie; “we didn’t buy a single 
thing!” 

“Remarkable girls!” exclaimed Marie Louise. “I 
don’t know any other girls who could go shopping 
with two hundred dollars and not spend a cent! ’ 

“We couldn’t find anything cheap enough!” 
sighed Ethel, dismally. 


90 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


Marie Louise put down her pencil, and looked 
about the porch for a minute. Suddenly she was 
seized with an inspiration. 

“I have it, girls!” she cried joyfully. “We didn’t 
go to an artist for our sign, and pay artists’ prices; 
we didn’t hire an expensive house-cleaning estab¬ 
lishment to put our house in order; we’re not going 
to engage professional waitresses at big wages—we 
do all those things ourselves! Why not apply the 
same principle to the furniture?” 

Marjorie regarded Marie Louise in utter amaze¬ 
ment. Her suggestion did not sound sensible. 

“But we can’t make furniture!” she protested. 

“We can buy a cheap grade from a manufacturer, 
and finish and decorate it ourselves,” explained 
Marie Louise. “I know how to do it—we studied 
the method at school. And I’m sure our crew of 
boys would help in the evenings. As for the rest¬ 
room furniture, why not use this from the porch? 
Nobody would mind doing without it for the sum¬ 
mer.” 

“Wouldn’t your mother object to our using it?” 
asked Ethel. 

“No, I’m sure she wouldn’t, for we could be care¬ 
ful. Now cheer up! We’ll get the boys on the tele¬ 
phone and have them come over to plan everything.” 

Acting upon the suggestion of Marie Louise, they 
set out the next day to search for a furniture manu- 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


91 


facturer. This time the artist went with Marjorie 
and Ethel. They were able to procure small round 
tables at eight dollars each, and good looking chairs 
at three dollars. They were plain, but substantially 
built, and had what Marie Louise called “good 
lines.” So they went home happy, having bought 
six tables and twenty-four chairs, and one extra 
oblong table, costing ten dollars, to be used as a 
serving-table. 

“Now, Marie Louise,” said Marjorie, “it's up to 
you to see that they get fixed up.” 

“Don't worry about that,” replied the other girl. 
“This is right in my line. I’m going to get more 
fun out of the old tea-house than I expected.” 

“Well, we got more furniture than I ever thought 
we would,” said Ethel, “and we’ve spent only a 
hundred and thirty of the two hundred dollars. 
That’s seventy dollars to the good on this item, 
Marj.” 

“The paint must come out of that yet,” reminded 
Marie Louise. “But that won’t cost much.” 

The days that followed were even busier for the 
girls than they had anticipated. For the rest of the 
week the place reeked with the odor of the succes¬ 
sive coats of paint which they applied to the furni¬ 
ture. Under the direction of Marie Louise, they 
finished it in a pale cream-colored enamel, and she 
decorated it with a charming pansy design. It was 


92 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


work they enjoyed doing; for they took great pride 
in seeing the bare, unfinished pieces being converted 
into furniture as beautiful as any they had seen in 
the shops. 

Mrs. Hadley and Ethel made scrim curtains for 
the windows; and John, poking about one day in 
the cellar, found a full set of made-to-order screens 
for the doors and windows, which he freshened up 
with paint and put in place. He also procured two 
boards which he cut in the shape of tea-kettles, and 
which Marie Louise painted and decorated with a 
large pansy in the center of each, and lettered to 
read: 

THE PANSY TEA-ROOM. 

John planted two posts outside the hedge by each 
entrance of the drive and hung the signs in con¬ 
spicuous positions. 

By the time that the two weeks of preparation 
were up, the outside of the place presented the well- 
kept appearance of a beautiful home, and inside was 
cozy and charming. Both the girls and the boys 
had enjoyed the work, and were pleased with the 
results. Indeed, they felt sorry for Daisy Gravers, 
who arrived after everything was in readiness for 
the opening day. 

The good news that she brought with her added 
another drop to their already brimming cup of hap- 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


93 


piness. Mrs. Trawle, the baby's mother, was out of 
the hospital now, and able to take care of little Betty 
herself, though not yet strong enough to earn any 
money towards their support. And so the scouts 
faced their opening day with only one anxiety: the 
fear that the tea-room would not have the patronage 
they hoped for, that it would not warrant their ex¬ 
penditure of the four hundred dollars they had bor¬ 
rowed. But in this, as in all of their other under¬ 
takings, they lived up to the law that a Girl Scout 
is cheerful, and hoped for the best. 


94 


SHE GIEL SCOUTS’ 


CHAPTER VIII. 

THE FIRST DAY. 

It was the opening day of the tea-house, and 
Marjorie awakened early and ran to the window to 
see whether the sun was rising. All night she had 
been dreaming of dark, rainy weather and a gloomy, 
unsuccessful beginning; perhaps this sense of 
anxiety was the cause of her early awakening. She 
almost laughed out loud when she saw the glowing 
light over the tree-tops in the east. 

“Ethel!” she cried exultantly to her companion. 
“Do wake up! We’re going to have a perfect day 
to start!” 

The other girl opened her eyes sleepily and looked 
across at Marjorie. 

“Oh, dear! We do have to begin work today, 
don’t we ?” she remarked, making no attempt to sup¬ 
press a yawn. 

“I should say we do! Aren’t you thrilled? Oh, 
Ethel, do you suppose any people will come in?” 

“Of course,” replied the other, in a matter of fact 
tone. “Don’t forget Marie Louise’s sign.” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


95 


“Yes, they can’t help seeing that. And don’t you 
really think that if they come once they’ll be back 
again ?” 

“Yes, Marjorie—for the fiftieth time—yes!” 

Marjorie laughed good-naturedly at Ethel’s teas¬ 
ing, and both girls started to dress. They entered 
the dining-room long before breakfast was ready; 
in fact, Mrs. Munsen and Florence, who was help¬ 
ing her that day, were only taking in the milk 
bottles. 

“Go out and get some flowers for the table, girls,” 
suggested the housekeeper, evidently not too anxious 
to have so many in the kitchen at once. “There are 
some lovely roses over near the fence.” 

Marjorie was only too delighted to go upon so 
pleasant an errand, and skipped joyfully out of the 
door, with Ethel following her in a more sedate 
manner. 

“And just what is our menu going to be today?” 
asked the older girl, as she began to cut some roses. 

“Sandwiches, iced and hot tea, ice-cream, and 
cake,” replied Marjorie. “But I hope we can branch 
out to more elaborate things later on.” 

“Still, that will probably keep us busy. And what 
is the schedule for work?” 

“Alice, Daisy and I are to help Anna prepare 
things this morning; Marie Louise, Florence and 


96 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


you serve this afternoon; and Lily and I go on at 
supper until closing time.” 

“And then somebody will have to buy the stuff for 
tomorrow,” added Ethel, a little wearied by the 
thought of so much housekeeping. 

“Yes, I hope we sell so much that we have to 
buy more suppplies,” laughed Marjorie. “But that’s 
easy to do over the telephone.” 

The girls lingered so long out in the garden that 
when they returned breakfast was almost ready. 
Most of their companions were strolling about the 
porch, but Lily and Marie Louise had not yet put 
in an appearance. 

“It’s a bad idea to let those two sleepy-heads room 
together,” remarked Marjorie, as the breakfast bell 
rang. “I suppose I’ll have to go rout them out!” 

“No, you won’t, either!” cried a voice from the 
stairs, and, looking up, the girls saw the late¬ 
comers descending, buttoning their dresses as they 
approached. 

The talk at the breakfast table was of little else 
than the tea-house; even the boys, and the good 
times they had been having were forgotten. Every¬ 
one felt optimistic; with such a day, such a menu, 
such workers, the opening could not be anything but 
a success. It was Lily who first introduced a dis¬ 
cordant note into the conversation. 


vacation adventures 97 

“Marj, you said you and I were on as waitresses 
after six o’clock. Shall we be alone ?” 

“Oh, no,” replied Marjorie. “Anna will stay 
until we go, if we want her to.” 

“But she isn’t going to sleep there?” asked the 
other, with concern. 

“No—though really it wouldn’t be a bad place to 
sleep, you know. Only that we have no beds, ex¬ 
cept the two army cots.” 

“I don’t want anybody to take a chance after that 
story Agnes told us,” said Lily. “So don’t you 
think you ought to warn Anna?” 

Several of the others laughed aloud at her fears, 
but Daisy and Mrs. Munsen took the matter more 
seriously. 

“It isn’t well to fool with such things,” said the 
older woman. “Not that I actually believe in ghosts, 
but there may be some power—perhaps human 
power—that works for evil in that house. But 
I don’t think I would scare Anna by telling her.” 

“Mercy no!” cried Marjorie. “She’d leave us, 
and then where would we be? No, girls, let’s make 
up our minds to forget it—it’s all silly, anyhow. 
Imagine how the boys would laugh at such non¬ 
sense!” 

“All right!” agreed Lily, obediently. “I’ll 
promise to face the music in silence—even if I am 
to be the first to serve night duty this evening.” 


98 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“Till half-past seven in the evening isn’t ‘night 
duty’!” protested Marjorie. “And by the way, John 
said he would drive down and get us, so you needn’t 
be afraid.” 

“Oh!” remarked Lily, with a significant look at 
her chum. “Is this ‘John Business’ going to be an 
every-day matter ?” 

“Now, listen, Lil; you’re a poor one to tease,” re¬ 
torted Marjorie; “when you were the first girl in 
this house to have a caller!” 

“The first, but not the last!” laughed Lily, trium¬ 
phantly. 

“Well, I thought it would be nice to have John’s 
help tonight, for I hope our day is going to be so 
strenuous that we’ll all be very tired. It will save 
you the trouble of taking your car back to the 
garage after you come home. And by the way, 
girls, will you all jot down any suggestions that you 
think of during the day in that notebook in the 
desk at the tea-house? And whoever is there last 
each night, must take a careful inventory of the 
supplies left on hand!” 

“Marj,” f said Alice, admiringly, as she started to 
clear the table, “you certainly are some executive! 
I wouldn’t be surprised to see you president of the 
United States some day.” 

“Thanks, Alice—but I don’t aspire to the job. I 
prefer something easier.” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


99 


“The president’s wife?” suggested Lily, in the 
same bantering tone. 

“I see,” said Marjorie, solemnly, “that we shall 
have to institute some system of kitchen police as 
punishment for too much frivolity. I had thought it 
would not be necessary with girls of our age and 
responsibility, but I guess I will have to install it 
in self-defense.” 

“It seems to me,” remarked Lily, archly, “that 
some people do a lot of bossing!” 

“I guess I was made a lawful lieutenant last sum¬ 
mer!” returned Marjorie, hautily. 

“I guess I’m a scout lieutenant, too!” laughed 
Lily. “Don’t forget our little troop at college!” 

“Girls!” interrupted Florence, “if you don’t stop 
fooling and get out of our way, we’ll make you both 
serve as kitchen-police!” 

This speech had the desired effect, and both girls 
rose hastily and pushed back their chairs. A few 
minutes later, Marjorie started for the tea-house. 

The girls found Anna already at work in the kit¬ 
chen, and, tying on their big gingham aprons that 
hung there in a row, they plunged right into their 
duties. The task proved to be so pleasant, amid 
such congenial companionship, that the morning was 
gone almost before they realized it. Marjorie went 
into the front room, and then out to the porch, 
surveying the effect with satisfaction. 


100 


THE GIEL SCOUTS 7 


“It does look lovely!” she commented, out loud. 
“Those pansies add just the right touch—Oh, if we 
only have some people!” 

“And just think,” remarked Alice, as she drew off 
her gingham apron, “that we shan't know until sup¬ 
per time, what success the girls have!” 

“Oh, I’ll know!” announced Marjorie. “You 
don't suppose I’d be able to stand that suspense all 
afternoon ?” 

“You mean you’re coming down—to work?” 
asked Daisy. “You’ll be dead, Marj, if you expect 
to go at a pace like that!” 

“Well, I can’t help it today! Fd be miserable 
away from here. I’ve just got to come!” 

When she declared her intention at luncheon, the 
other girls denounced it with equal ardor. But Mar¬ 
jorie was not to be desisted. 

“We may have so many guests that you need an 
extra waitress,” she said. 

“I hope so,” replied Ethel. “But don’t set your 
hopes too high, Marj. We really can’t tell by the 
first day.” 

Long before the clock struck two, which time the 
girls had agreed upon for the opening, the four wait¬ 
resses, in their linen dresses and stiffly starched 
white aprons, stood at the windows of the tea¬ 
house, watching for their guests to arrive. They 
talked and laughed a great deal, joking often about 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


101 


the crowds they expected, and speculating as to 
where they would seat them all. For an hour or 
more automobiles continued to go by, one after an¬ 
other, without stopping, but no one allowed herself 
to express any concern. They all acted as if they 
felt sure that business would improve. 

As four o'clock approached, Marjorie reassured 
the others by telling them that now people would 
undoubtedly come in. 

“Philadelphians are too fashionable to drink tea 
at the wrong hour, aren't they, Marie Louise?" she 
asked. 

“Yes, indeed!" agreed the girl, heartily. Then, 
as if to forestall despondency for the next hour, she 
added, “And they seldom have it before five." 

With characteristic self-control, Marjorie was 
able to appear outwardly calm during this sickening 
time of waiting; but inwardly she was growing in¬ 
creasingly nervous. When five o'clock passed and 
still no one had come, she was ready to surrender 
to despair. Suddenly the sound of a machine in the 
driveway made her heart beat wildly with excite¬ 
ment. Breathlessly, she rushed to the window. 

“Our luck’s changed!” cried Ethel, triumphantly. 
“Our first patron is coming!" 

“Oh, it’s wonderful!" gasped Marjorie. “But do 
come away from the window, girls! We musn't 
appear curious." 


102 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“Right you are, Marj!” agreed Marie Louise, 
stationing herself behind a chair, and adopting the 
correct attitude of a waitress. 

Then the door opened and two girls stepped into 
the room. A second later, everyone broke into 
hilarious laughter: the guests were Alice and Lily! 

“Oh, you wicked, wicked girls!” cried Marjorie. 
“If you knew how you’ve raised our hopes—” 

“But we’re here as patrons!” protested Lily, hold¬ 
ing up her purse for inspection. “And I guess our 
money’s as good as anybody else’s!” 

“And you really did save the day by giving us a 
good laugh,” observed Ethel. “Now, then—” she 
assumed a professional manner—“what would you 
ladies care to have ?” 

“Sandwiches, ice-tea, ice-cream, and chocolate 
cake!” replied Lily, in one breath. “I intend to stay 
here—not go home for supper—because we go on 
duty at six, you know.” 

“Yes, so we do,” agreed Marjorie. 

“You take off your apron and come eat with me, 
Marj!” urged Lily, and the other decided to comply 
with her request. 

While they were thus occupied, their first real 
guests finally arrived. A large machine drove up 
behind Lily’s, and a party of six girls got out. 
They proved to be Agnes Taylor and five of her 
friends. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


103 


They sat down at the tables, and, while they were 
waiting to be served, admired everything extrava¬ 
gantly. Agnes promised to talk the enterprise up 
among her friends. 

“Then the ghost didn’t scare you away, did it?” 
she asked, laughingly. 

“Sh!” warned Marjorie. “We don’t want to 
scare our cook—she’s too good to lose! So please 
don’t talk about it.” 

“Oh, there’s really no danger,” said Agnes, rather 
seriously, “unless somebody sleeps here. I guess 
nothing would happen in broad daylight. Ghosts 
only come at night, don’t they?” 

Several of the girls smiled at the conversation, 
though one or two were nevertheless impressed by 
it. 

“I’m going to prove that’s nonsense before the 
summer’s over,” replied Marjorie. 

“How?” demanded Agnes. 

“By staying here myself!” she answered, confi¬ 
dently. 

“You’d better not!” warned Agnes, shaking her 
head. 

It was six o’clock now, and all the girls except 
Marjorie and Lily were preparing to leave. The 
latter insisted that Ethel drive her car home, for she 
would be able to go back with John Hadley. 

As soon as they had gone, Marjorie told Anna 


104 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


that she too might leave. Then she and Lily went 
out on the porch to wait and to hope for new ar¬ 
rivals. Again they were rewarded, this time by a 
pedestrian,—an elderly man—with a dog. Instantly 
the girls were all courteous attention. 

“Could I have a little supper, ladies?” he inquired, 
politely. 

Marjorie directed him to a table by the window, 
and handed him the menu. When she went out to 
fill his order, he turned to Lily. 

“This is not my dog,” he remarked; “just a stray 
one that followed me, but he seems hungry. I won¬ 
der whether you have some crusts—” 

“Yes, indeed!” replied Lily. 

She called the poor scrawny animal into the kit¬ 
chen, and gave him what to him was no doubt a 
feast. When she returned, the stranger thanked her 
profusely. 

“I understand that you have just opened the tea¬ 
house?” he remarked, as he ate his supper. 

“Yes,” replied Marjorie. “We are Girl Scouts, 
and we are doing it for charity.” 

“Very good! Very good!” murmured the old 
man. “The house is familiar to me—I used to know 
Mr. Scott before he died.” 

“Indeed!” remarked Lily. 

“I suppose you’ve heard tales about its being 
haunted, and all that,” he continued. “Just because 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


105 


of so many deaths, I suppose. I did know a man, 
however, who wanted to put the saying to a test— 
that no creature can live through a night here—and 
he left his horse in the stable, not very long ago.” 

“And what happened?” demanded Lily, her eyes 
bright with excitement. 

The old man fingered his spoon for a moment be¬ 
fore replying. He had not intended to frighten the 
girls. 

“It was dead in the morning!” 

“Oh, it must have been sick when it came,” said 
Marjorie, lightly; but she noticed that in spite of 
herself Lily had been impressed. 

The sun was setting, and after the old man left, 
with a promise to come back often, the girls began 
to get ready to leave. A little after seven they heard 
the welcome rattle of John’s Ford in the drive. 

“What shall we do with the dog?” asked Lily, as 
she bent to lock the door. 

“Let him sleep in the stable if he wants to,” re¬ 
plied Marjorie. “He will be a sort of protection.” 

“And we can test out the ghost theory!” added 
Lily. “If he’s alive tomorrow morning, I’ll promise 
never to mention it again!” 

“Good!” cried Marjorie, with satisfaction. 


106 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


CHAPTER IX. 
anna's disappearance. 

It was Marjorie's turn to work in the afternoon 
the following day, so she decided to sleep late in the 
morning, in order to rest from the excitement of the 
previous day. Not desiring any breakfast, she was 
still in bed at ten o'clock when Marie Louise burst 
into her room with a startling piece of news. 

“Marj!" she cried, breathelessly, “your little dog 
is dead!" 

“What little dog?"' demanded Marjorie, entirely 
forgetting the stray animal that had come to the 
tea-house with the stranger. 

“That little dog you fed yesterday, and allowed to 
sleep in the garage!" 

“What’s that?" asked Marjorie, recalling the 
creature vaguely. “Tell me about it," 

Marie Louise sat down on the bed and made a 
great effort to speak calmly. 

“Well, you know Lily and Florence and I were 
scheduled to be down at the tea-house this morning 
to make sandwiches, and Lily decided to go get the 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


107 


car at the garage. While she was waiting for the 
man to finish washing it, a dog came in, and that 
reminded her of the little stray one that came to 
you yesterday.” 

“Yes—yes—go on!” urged Marjorie. “It wasn’t 
the same dog, was it?” 

“Oh, no indeed! But she told us the story of the 
old man, and the dog he picked up, and his weird 
tale about the horse.” 

“I’m glad she told you before you got to the tea¬ 
house where Anna could hear!” remarked Marjorie. 
“If you girls scare her away with all this rubbish—” 

“But it isn’t rubbish, Marjorie!” interrupted 
Marie Louise. “When we got to the tea-house, Lily 
suggested that we go out to the garage just for fun 
to see whether the dog was still there—or whether 
anything had happened to him. And, as I said be¬ 
fore, we found him dead!” 

“Rally?” asked Marjorie, incredulously. “Had 
he been shot, or hurt in any way ?” 

“No, we looked closely, and we couldn’t find a 
single mark on his body. He must have died of 
heart failure!” 

“Poor little fellow!” murmured Marjorie. “Well, 
I’m glad he got one good square meal before he 
died.” 

“Marj,” asked Marie Louise in surprise, “aren’t 
you concerned with the reason for his death ?” 


108 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“I can pretty well guess it,” replied the other, 
lightly. “He probably was starving when he came 
to us yesterday, and then all that food was just 
about too much for his stomach—all at once. We 
ought to have had better sense, and fed him more 
gradually. But he seemed to enjoy it so!” 

“Marj, look me straight in the eyes and tell me 
you don’t believe there was any other reason for 
his death!” 

Marjorie smilingly acquiesed; she really was sin¬ 
cere in her refusal to attach any significance to the 
incident. 

“I honestly don’t believe one word of all that 
supernatural stuff!” she said, with assurance. “Now 
—what did you do with the dog?” 

“Left him there, of course. Wouldn’t one of the 
boys come and bury him?” 

“Yes, I guess Jack could run over during his noon 
hour, if I phoned him. But tell me, Marie Louise, 
how much of this does Anna know?” 

“Not a single word of it! We knew that you 
would be anxious to keep it from her, so we didn’t 
say a thing about the ghost story. Of course she 
knows the little dog is dead.” 

“Naturally,” observed Marjorie. 

Sleep was out of the question now, so, after per¬ 
suading Marie Louise to return to her work at the 
tea-house, Marjorie thoughtfully began to dress. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


109 


She did not for one moment share the other girl’s 
fears in regard to the little creature’s death, but she 
could not help wondering at the coincidence. It was 
too bad, she thought, that it had to happen, for 
it would make Lily and Marie Louise and all of the 
timid girls more timid. She longed to make some 
experiment, to prove to them that there was 
nothing to it, and yet she did not know what to do. 
For obvious other reasons it would not be safe for 
her to stay there alone all night—in a house so near 
a public highway, where automobiles passed by with 
such frequency. And yet she knew of no other way 
to prove the harmlessness of the place to the girls. 

At the end of that day—a day more successful 
in every way than the preceding one,—she talked 
the matter over with John Hadley, and decided to 
do nothing at all. He was naturally of the same 
opinion as she was, that the thing was merely one 
of those strange coincidences which so often occur, 
and did not consider it worth any notice. The af¬ 
fair would blow over more quickly, he said, if 
ignored; in the busy days that the girls had before 
them, they would not have time to worry over such 
silly matters. And so the thing was dropped—for 
the time being. 

By the time that two weeks had passed, each day 
bringing more and more patrons to the tea-house, 
and thus demanding more work from the girls, most 


110 


THE GIKL SCOUTS’ 


of them had forgotten the little incident of the 
dog's death, and the stories which were associated 
with the place. On one occasion, several of the girls 
drove there with John Hadley after dark, but they 
found the house exactly like other houses, and 
laughed at their former superstitions. Had it not 
been for Anna, who came to Marjorie one day with 
a request, the matter might have been dropped for 
the rest of the summer. 

It was one morning in the first week of July that 
Marjorie, coming to the tea-house early, found the 
girl busily mixing one of those maple cakes for 
which they had already become famous. She looked 
up smilingly as she saw Marjorie enter the kitchen 
alone. 

“Good morning, Miss Wilkinson,” she said, 
cheerily. “I am glad to see you by yourself, because 
I want to ask you a favor. Could our crowd of 
girls have the loan of this house next Saturday 
night for a party for our friends ? Of course we'd 
clean up afterwards, and not disturb anything.” 

Marjorie hesitated a moment, in doubt as to the 
right thing to do. It was not that she did not want 
Anna to use the house—there was no reason in the 
world why her faithful service should not be re¬ 
warded—but she wondered whether an evening af¬ 
fair of this sort would look well for the tea-house. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


111 


People were so critical; they might not believe that 
the party was an innocent one. 

“Would you have a chaperone or two, Anna?” 
she asked. 

“Oh, yes, of course—if you wanted us to. My 
aunt was coming anyhow, and perhaps Mrs. Munsen 
would help us out.” 

“Pm sure she would,” said Marjorie. “All right, 
then, I’m perfectly willing. But we couldn’t very 
well close the tea-house early that evening—Satur-» 
day night’s a rather important one, you know.” 

“Oh, there will be plenty of time!” said Anna. 
“We wouldn’t want to start the party before nine 
o’clock—or even half past. Thanks so much. Miss 
Wilkinson.” 

When Marjorie related the incident at lunch time, 
it instantly brought to the girls’ minds the stories 
connected with the tea-house. 

“Maybe we’ll find out whether there’s anything 
to them,” remarked Lily. 

“No, we can’t, either!” said Marie Louise. “Be¬ 
cause, don’t you remember, it’s early morning—just 
before dawn—when the ghost is supposed to walk. 
And the party will be over before then.” 

“Let us hope so!” put in Mrs. Munsen. “As 
long as I’m to be a chaperone, I’d like to get in 
bed before morning.” 

“Oh, the party will have to break up at midnight,” 


112 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


said Marjorie. “It wouldn’t look well for the tea¬ 
house to have it last late. You see everybody knows 
it is run by Girl Scouts—and that we’re not very 
old—” 

“Mere babies!” laughed Alice. 

“You mean for a baby!” corrected Daisy. “I 
don’t want you to forget Betty!” 

“We aren’t likely to, with you around,” teased 
Florence. “By the way, I had a letter from mother 
and she wrote that she went to see Mrs. Trawle. 
Everything’s fine, she says, very neat and clean, and 
the baby’s growing beautifully.” 

“Then our work is really worth while, isn’t it?” 
asked Alice. 

“Yes, I think so,” said Marjorie; “I know the 
cause is worth while, but I can tell you better later 
on whether we are actually making money. It’s hard 
to judge so soon—after so big an outlay.” 

She looked a little anxious as she spoke, and Lily, 
who could always read her chum’s face like a book, 
wondered whether she were not more worried over 
the proposition that she let the others see. 

“Well, we’re having a good time, anyway!” she 
remarked, gaily. “And we should worry whether 
dad ever gets his five hundred back!” 

“Oh, Lil!” said Marjorie, reproachfully. “You 
know we’d never do that!” 

Lily, however, was not satisfied by Marjorie’s 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


113 


manner, and noticed that she asked frequently for 
her car, so that she might do her marketing at the 
more economical stores, and spent more and more 
time each evening over her accounts. John, too, 
found her unusually preoccupied, and hardly ever 
succeeded in getting her thoughts entirely away 
from the tea-house. 

On the following Saturday evening, however, she 
consented to go to see a moving picture with him, 
more because she wanted to stay up until Mrs. 
Munsen came home from Anna’s party than be¬ 
cause she wanted recreation. They drove into 
town in the car, to attend one of the larger theatres ; 
so, during their ride through the park they found 
plenty of time for conversation. 

“Are you beginning to be worried about your 
finances, Marjorie?” John asked. 

“Well, I really don’t know,” she replied. “We 
spend money as fast as we make it, but of course 
our business is increasing. But now the girls are 
beginning to talk about vacations, and that may 
mean hiring extra help.” 

“Oh, you’ll be all right, I’m sure. By the way, 
that cook you have is a jewel, isn’t she? She cer¬ 
tainly concocts some of the most delicious mix¬ 
tures !” 

“Yes; everything Anna cooks turns out well. 
And I have only to read her a recipe once, and she 


114 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


makes it to perfection. I sincerely hope we can keep 
her.” 

“Well, I guess you can. Isn't she having a party 
at the tea-house tonight ?” 

“Yes,” answered Marjorie. “And that reminds 
me, I would like to stop for Mrs. Munsen—she’s 
chaperoning them, you know—on our way back.” 

“Certainly,” replied John, always glad to be of 
service. 

Marjorie found the evening more enjoyable than 
she had anticipated; sitting in the artificially cooled 
theatre, watching a good picture, and listening to the 
full tones of a pipe organ, she forgot her anxieties. 
John insisted upon ice-cream after the performance 
was over, for, as he reminded her, they would not 
want to get to the party too early. 

They found the young people still dancing when 
they drove into the yard, but Anna assured them 
that refreshments had been served, and that the fes¬ 
tivities would end in a few minutes. The girl’s aunt 
was still there, so Mrs. Munsen felt justified in 
leaving. 

“The only thing I don’t approve of,” remarked 
the housekeeper, when they were on their way home, 
“is for Anna and her aunt to stay there all night. 
I had to give my permission—there was no real 
reason why they shouldn’t—” 

“They’re sensible people!” remarked Marjorie. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


115 


“At least if they don’t mind those cots. Because 
they’ll be right there in the morning to start clearing 
up!” 

“But if there is anything to those stories—” 

“Oh, Mrs. Munsen!” protested Marjorie. “You 
surely don’t beheve them!” 

“No, but I’d just as soon nobody stayed there all 
night. Of course I didn’t say anything—I didn’t 
want to frighten Anna—" 

“I should hope not!” cried Marjorie. “For you 
know she’s priceless!” 

So late was the hour that she did not invite John 
to come in, but hurried immediately to her own 
room. She was very tired, and wanted to get as 
much sleep as possible; she crawled into bed very 
quietly, in order that she might not arouse Ethel. 
She sincerely hoped that she would not be disturbed 
until morning. 

But her hopes were short-lived, for less than an 
hour had passed when she was sharply awakened by 
the continued ringing of the door-bell. She sat up 
immediately, reaching for her slippers and kimona. 
But by the time she arrived at the head of the stairs, 
she heard the door being opened. 

“Oh, Mrs. Munsen!” cried a shrill, female voice. 
“Something’s happened to Anna! Something aw¬ 
ful ! She’s gone!” 


116 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“Gone where?” asked the terrified housekeeper, in 
a hoarse voice. 

“I don’t know where!” gasped the woman. 

By this time all of the girls were awake, and had 
gathered at the foot of the stairs. The visitor 
sank suddenly to the floor in a faint. 

“Bring some water—and aromatic spirits!” 
directed Mrs. Munsen, as Florence and Alice raised 
the woman to the couch. “It is Anna’s aunt,” she 
explained. “She and Anna planned to stay at the 
tea-house all night!” 

“The ghost!” whispered Lily, in a tone of deepest 
woe. 

“No, no! It can’t be!” cried Marjorie, suddenly 
taking the blame upon herself for not warning 
Anna. “Oh, I can’t believe it!” 

“But how are we to know what did happen?” 
demanded Florence. 

“We won’t know till morning,” replied Mrs. 
Munsen. “The woman is regaining consciousness, 
but she needs to be put to bed immediately.” 

“But what about Anna?” asked Marjorie. 

“She’s gone!” gasped the woman, partially taking 
in the girl’s words. “Too late! Too late!” 

“We better dress immediately and go down to the 
tea-house!” said Marjorie, desperately. 

“No,” said Ethel, “I’ll phone the police to go— 
they could do a great deal more than we could!” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


117 


Marjorie acquiesed; and when, half an hour later, 
they called to say that they had searched the place 
thoroughly, and found no traces of the missing girl, 
the scouts went to bed. But though quiet reigned, 
throughout the house, no one slept very much. 


118 


THE GIRL SCOUTS' 


CHAPTER X. 

THE MYSTERY. 

Marjorie hurried with her dressing and rushed 
downstairs on Sunday morning, eager to hear the 
explanations of Anna’s aunt. The previous night 
the occurrence had appeared wild, but plausible; 
now, in the clear morning light, it seemed absurd. 
She felt sure that either she or the woman had 
been dreaming. 

Although most of the girls put in an early ap¬ 
pearance in the dining-room, they were disappointed 
to find that Mrs. McCreedy was still in bed. They 
tried to allay their curiosity by discussing the af¬ 
fair from all possible angles. 

“I really believe,” announced Lily, “that there is 
some superhuman power in that house that is respon¬ 
sible for this deed!” 

“And I agree with you,” said Mrs. Munsen, firm¬ 
ly. “We have plenty of proof of spirits’ manifesting 
themselves in the Bible—so it is not a subject to be 
laughed at, or put aside as childish.” 

“Lots of other people—older and wiser than we 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


119 


are—think the place is haunted!” put in Marie 
Louise. 

“Well, I simply don’t believe it!” said Marjorie. 
“It’s much more likely that Anna has been kid¬ 
napped.” 

“But why would anybody want to kidnap a poor 
servant girl?” asked Florence, practically. “There 
wouldn’t be any hope of ransom.” 

“Maybe it was a rejected suitor,” suggested Alice, 
always looking for the romantic. 

“It really is a waste of time to make all these con¬ 
jectures,” remarked Ethel, “before we have heard 
the facts in the case. Tn^xwoman may have been 
dreaming, or Anna sleep-walkiftg.” 

“Let’s take the car and go down to the tea-house 
right away!” interrupted Lily. “Maybe we have 
had all our fears for nothing.” 

“No, let’s wait till the aunt appears,” said Mar¬ 
jorie; “and then go.” 

All this time Ethel had been scanning the news¬ 
paper for news, but she did not find even the 
slightest report from the police. 

“You see the papers didn’t have sufficient facts to 
warrant a story,” she remarked. “So I should 
think—” 

“Good morning, girls! Has Anna been heard 
from?” interrupted a woman’s voice from the stairs, 
and, looking up, they saw Mrs. McCreedy enter the 


120 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


room. She was a middle-aged person, of stolid 
build, not at all the type one would expect to find 
nervous or imaginative. 

“Good morning, Mrs. McCreedy, ,, said Mrs. 
Munsen, pleasantly. “No news yet; but we are ex¬ 
pecting to hear any minute. You met the girls last 
night. How do you feel this morning?” 

“Much better,” replied the other. “In fact, I’d 
feel all right, if I wasn’t worried about Anna.” 

“Let’s have breakfast,” suggested Mrs. Munsen; 
“and you can tell us the whole story.” 

They all sat down at the table, and the girls turned 
expectant, questioning faces towards their visitor. 
They were more interested in hearing what she had 
to say than in eating their food. 

“Well,” began Mrs. McCreedy, “you remember 
Mrs. Munsen and the young lady left the tea-house 
just about twelve o’clock—and the party broke up 
right away. Two or three of the fellows wanted to 
hang around and help put the things back in place, 
but Anna wouldn’t hear of it. She said her orders 
was twelve o’clock, and she meant to stick by them. 

“After everybody was gone, we gathered up the 
food and put it away, and then went straight up 
stairs to the room where the army cots are, and 
spread out our blankets. We took off our good 
dresses, and put on our work dresses which we had 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


121 


brought with us, for we didn't want to be bothered 
with night clothes. 

“It was pretty hot, so we opened all the windows 
where there was screens, and we could hear the 
automobiles passing plain in the public road. They 
was getting fewer and fewer, and I was just drop¬ 
ping off to sleep, when Anna set up sudden in her 
bed, and reached over and touched me on the arm. 

“ ‘Hear that, Aunt Mary?’ she whispered. 

“ ‘What?' says I. 

“ ‘That moving around—in the stable !' 

“ ‘Pshaw! Anna! That ain't nothing!’ I says. ‘Go 
to sleep!' 

“But she wouldn’t lie down. 

“ ‘Aunt!' she says again, ‘I wonder if I locked 
the back door.' 

“‘Oh, I guess so!' says I. I was that sleepy I 
didn't care. 

“But she was standing up now, putting on her 
pumps. And before I could say a word, she was 
creeping quiet like down the steps.” 

“Oh!” gasped Lily, who had not eaten a mouth¬ 
ful during this recital. “And you followed her?” 

“No—not at first,” replied Mrs. McCreedy. “I 
heard her unbolt the back door—you see, she had 
locked it after all, just as I suspected. A minute 
later I heard her bolt it again, and first thing you 
know, I was off in a doze again.” 


122 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“But if she locked the door again, how did she 
get out of the house?” demanded Ethel. “Did 
somebody drag her through a window ?” 

“That’s just what I can’t tell you!” replied Mrs. 
McCreedy. “When I wakened up again—it must 
have been about half an hour later, judging from 
when I got here—and I missed her, I got up and 
searched the house. Both doors was locked and 
bolted on the inside, and all the screens was still 
hooked in the windows—from the inside. But Anna 
had entirely disappeared!” 

“It’s the ghost! I told you so!” whispered Marie 
Louise, her face as white as the table cloth. 

“Maybe she fell down the cellar,” suggested Mar¬ 
jorie, unwilling to accept the supernatural theory. 

“I thought of that,” said Mrs. McCreedy, “be¬ 
cause the door was open—I think one of the boys 
went down cellar for a joke, during the party, and 
forgot to close the door. So I took a candle and 
went down—not that I enjoyed doing it much, but 
I didn’t want to leave Anna there unconscious if 
she fell down—but there wasn’t a sign of her!” 

“And evidently the police didn’t find her, from the 
message they gave over the telephone,” said Flor¬ 
ence. 

“You left the door open when you came out?” 
asked Marjorie. “So that the police surely got 
in?” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


123 


“You bet I did!” replied the older woman. “The 
minute I was certain Anna was gone, I knew there 
was something queer about the house, and I opened 
the door and ran as fast as I could. It never entered 
my head to shut it!” 

The girls were all trembling as they listened to 
the conclusion, and Daisy and Marie Louise were 
sobbing. Marjorie, on the other hand, was eager 
for action. 

“It must have been robbers!” she cried, jumping 
up from her chair in excitement. “They probably 
bound and gagged Anna, and by this time our tea¬ 
house is in ruins! There isn’t a minute to lose—” 

“Wait a second, Marjorie!” cautioned Ethel, 
grasping the other girl’s hands, and holding her still. 
“If those things had happened the police would have 
found out and let us know. But I will telephone 
headquarters again—and you and Lily get the car 
and go down to the tea-house.” 

“Yes, you’re right, Ethel,” admitted Marjorie, 
struggling to get control of herself again, “and 
we’ll do as you suggest.” 

The walk to the garage where Lily kept her car 
and the ride to the tea-house were just enough to re¬ 
store Marjorie’s equilibrium. By the time they had 
reached their destination, she was conversing in 
quite her usual manner. 


124 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“We’ll have to dose for today, won’t we?” asked 
Lily, as they turned into the drive. 

“That all depends upon the state in which we find 
things,” answered Marjorie. “If we have been 
robbed of much, of course it will be impossible—” 

“Hold on, there, girls!” interrupted a somewhat 
gruff, masculine voice. “We want to examine the 
driveway for tracks.” 

Lily stopped the car instantly, and, looking back 
towards the garage, distinguished two policemen, 
intently studying the sandy gravel of the drive. 

“There are the tracks of the Ford we came in 
last night,” remarked Marjorie, as she jumped out 
of the car. “And they have not been disturbed!” 

“You got the woman’s story from one of our 
party?” asked Lily, approaching the policeman. 

“Oh, yes,” he replied. “And we searched every¬ 
thing thoroughly last night after you phoned, but 
we couldn’t find a thing. Have you a picture of 
the girl?” 

“No,” replied Marjorie, “but I think I can get 
you one. You want it for the papers?” 

“Yes—and to help us locate her, and get her 
back.” 

“Then you don’t think she is dead?” Marjorie’s 
voice trembled so that she could scarcely speak. 

“No—I think she’ll turn up. It’s more than likely 
some love-affair,” said the policeman, indifferently. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 125 

“Because, as far as we can see, there has been no 
robbery.” 

“Thank goodness for that!” breathed Marjorie. 

The girls hurried anxiously into the house, and 
searched it from cellar to attic; but they found no 
traces of Anna. Everything was just as it had: 
been at the party the previous night; even the food 
was where Anna had put it; the silverware, the 
china, the furnishings were untouched. Marjorie 
uttered a sigh of relief. 

. “I begin to think that policeman is right,” she 
said hopefully. “Maybe it is only an elopement, 
after all.” 

“But how could she get out?” questioned Lily. 

“Oh, lovers have all sorts of devices,” replied 
Marjorie. “I mean to put that suggestion up to 
Mrs. McCreedy when I see her again.” 

By the time that the rest of the scouts arrived, 
Marjorie felt entirely confident that she had guessed 
at the solution. The policeman had gone and the 
girls began to straighten up the house and prepare 
the menu for the afternoon. But they had so much 
to talk about that their progress was hampered. 

There were two prevailing opinions as to the ex¬ 
planation of the strange occurrence: the theory that 
Marjorie held in regard to an elopment—a theory 
which was shared by Ethel, Florence, and Alice; 
and the supernatural hypothesis, held by Lily, Daisy, 


126 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


and Marie Louise. Both the older women—Mrs. 
Munsen and Mrs. McCreedy—who arrived at the 
tea-house during the course of the morning, sub¬ 
scribed to the latter view. 

Upon Marjorie’s urging, however, Mrs. 
McCreedy promised to call up one or two of the 
young people to request that they get in touch 
with the others and question them about the possi¬ 
bilities of an elopment. But when, an hour later, 
she reported that all the boys had been located, 
and that no one suspected such an intention on 
Anna’s part, the girl’s spirits visibly fell. 

By noon everything at the tea-house appeared as 
usual, in readiness for the afternoon. With the pub ¬ 
licity which the affair would undoubtedly bring 
them, Marjorie felt that it would be unwise to close 
the place. Even if Anna were ill or dead, it would 
not help her in any way for the girls to be idle. 

When they returned after dinner they found the 
porch already crowded with patrons whose curiosity 
had brought them there. Marjorie smiled grimly 
as she thought of the financial assistance such a boom 
would produce at a time when they so sorely needed 
it. Late in the afternoon she was obliged to send 
out for additional food, and all of the girls stayed 
right through supper time to help. 

As closing time drew near, Marjorie had a short 
conference with Ethel, and both girls agreed that 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


127 


it would be best to send again for the police. The 
same men came who had been there in the morning, 
and both girls were again impressed by their in¬ 
difference. 

“What would you advise us to do?” asked Mar¬ 
jorie of the superior officer. 

“Do?” he repeated, woodenly. “There’s nothing 
to do, Miss!” 

“But don’t you think we ought to take definite 
steps to find the missing girl?” she persisted. 

“We’re doing all we can,” he replied, sullenly. 

“Oughtn’t we to hire a detective ?” asked Ethel. 

The policeman shrugged his shoulders in con¬ 
tempt. 

“My dear young lady, detectives are seldom any 
good—except in books. And besides—they’re 
mighty expensive!” 

Marjorie’s brow clouded; she knew they could 
not afford to spend much money, for they were not 
yet out of the woods financially. Nevertheless, re¬ 
gardless of her personal feeling in the matter, she 
believed that, as the girl’s employers, they should do 
all within their power to find her. 

“If you could suggest anything—” she began. 

“Would one or two of your men be willing to 
spend a night here ?” interupted Ethel. 

“Maybe,” replied the officer. “I guess so. 
When?” 


128 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“Tonight, if possible!” urged Marjorie. “We 
mustn’t delay!” 

“All right; but it won’t do no good. It ain’t 
likely anybody’s come around now. I’ll ask the 
sergeant.” 


YACATION ADVENTURES 


129 


CHAPTER XI. 

ANOTHER SURPRISE. 

None of the boys heard anything about the ex¬ 
citing events which were taking place at the tea¬ 
house until John Hadley and Jack Wilkinson 
dropped in on Sunday evening about closing time. 
They were startled to find two policemen on the 
steps. 

“What has happened ?" cried Jack, jumping im¬ 
mediately to the conclusion that the place had been 
robbed. 

At that moment Marjorie appeared at the door 
and called them in, preferring to make her explana¬ 
tion herself. In a few words she related the facts. 

“But why didn't you call on us?" asked John, in 
a hurt tone. 

“Simply because we have been too busy," she re¬ 
plied, smiling. “Every minute has been taken up 
with something or other. But I did mean to call 
you both tonight, when I got home." 

“And what are you planning to do about it?" 
asked Jack. 


330 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“The policemen are staying here all night tonight, 
and we are giving the thing the widest publicity 
possible. Every paper in the city is coming out 
with the story, and a picture of Anna; and we have 
offered a reward for her return.” 

“I wish we could stay here!” muttered John. 
“We'd take more interest than those fat, sleepy 
policemen would!” 

“Oh, I don’t think anything interesting will hap¬ 
pen tonight,” said Marjorie. “Of course, one or 
two of the girls cling to the theory of the super¬ 
natural; and if that were the case, something would 
be likely to happen. But I don’t believe that.” 

“But what could the motive be?” persisted John. 

“I don’t know—I’m all at sea. Now you boys sit 
down while I go finish my work. It’s harder to get 
through without any cook, and with our increase in 
business.” 

“And wait till tomorrow, after the people see the 
papers!” remarked Jack. “Come on, Hadley, let’s 
go inside and help. Give us a job, Sis.” 

“Delighted!” assented Marjorie. 

With this added assistance, the girls were able 
to finish earlier. Marjorie was particularly glad of 
the protection of the car in returning home, for her 
cash box was heavy from the receipts of the day, and 
Lily had been too tired to wait for her. 

“You girls need a bit of fresh air,” remarked 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


131 


John, turning about to the three in the back seat. 
“Couldn’t we go for a spin ?” 

“That would be great!” cried Daisy, who felt 
worn out from the day’s excitement. 

“But we mustn’t go far, or we’ll worry the people 
at home,” cautioned Marjorie. “Marie Louise would 
be sure that the ghost had translated us to another 
world.” 

“Let’s stop and change seats,” suggested Jack. 
“I know Hadley is dying for your society. Sis, and 
I can’t deny that I’d like to be in the back seat with 
Ethel and Daisy.” 

They rode for half an hour, both boys making a 
valiant effort to distract the girls’ thoughts from 
their anxiety, but succeeding only partially, for the 
affair was uppermost in the minds of all. 

When they got back to the house, they found all 
the rest of the scouts on the porch. 

“Any news?” asked Florence, eagerly. 

“Just the question I was going to ask you,” re¬ 
turned Marjorie, laughingly. 

“Yes, we have some news,” put in Alice. “Doris 
and Roger are home, and stopped in to see us.” 

“Doris and Roger? When did they come back? 
And why didn’t they stay a while?” 

“Oh, they only got back yesterday,” said Marie 
Louise; “and they have a lot to do.” 

“Doris was rather keen about helping with the 


132 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


tea-room until we told her about last night,” said 
Florence, laughingly. “Then she made some excuse 
about being awfully busy with the house—” 

“And Roger encouraged her,” added Alice. “He 
didn’t seem to like the idea a bit of having his little 
wife in danger.” 

“Can’t blame him for that!” muttered John, sym¬ 
pathetically. 

“Marjorie,” said Lily, very seriously, “I have a 
suggestion to make. We’ve been talking it over 
here before you got back, and Marie Louise and 
Doris and Florence all approved—that it would be 
best to close the tea-house before anything else hap¬ 
pens. I know dad doesn’t care a thing about his 
loan; so we could just keep all the money we made 
and give it to Daisy for the baby. I think we’d 
have enough, and there wouldn’t be any danger of 
any of us following Anna.” 

“No! No!” cried Marjorie. “I couldn’t give up 
now, Lil! Your father’s awfully generous, I know, 
and would be willing to give us the money; but I 
couldn’t accept it. And I feel as if we just have 
to solve this mystery!” 

“At the price of some girl’s life?” asked Marie 
Louise. “No, Marjorie, it isn’t worth it!” 

“And all sorts of problems are going to arise,” 
added Florence. “First of all, we have no cook— 
and with these stories going around it isn’t likely 


VACATION ' ADVENTURES 133 

that anyone will want the job; then, there's the diffi¬ 
culty of the different girls' vacations—they're al¬ 
ready arranged for; and without being able to hire 
extra people we'll all be dead tired most of the 
time. And, last of all, there's our mothers.” 

“Our mothers?'' repeated Marjorie. “I don't 
see—" 

“Why, when they read about all these wild doings 
in the papers they're going to write us to come home 
immediately. Indeed, I expect to get a telegram 
tomorrow.'' 

Marjorie was silent; the arguments seemed con¬ 
clusive; the majority overwhelmingly against her. 
And when Lily was among the opponents, then she 
felt beaten indeed. 

But she had forgotten Ethel Todd. 

“Girls,” said the latter; “I do not believe you are 
right. I think we would be cowards to run away 
now, to think only of ourselves, and not at all of 
Anna. The best way to get her back is to stick to 
our jobs and keep on the trail. Of course, we want 
to take every precaution; but I really don't see any 
danger. We’re not babies—and we have the boys 
to help us.” 

“Indeed you have!” cried Jack, staunchly. 

Marjorie cast Ethel a grateful look; she felt al¬ 
ready as if the battle were won. 

“Let us help you out in the evenings,” offered 


134 


THE GIEL SCOUTS’ 


John. “In the kitchen—doing the rough work, and 
the cleaning. What are we here for, anyhow ?” 

“Do you mean it?” cried Marjorie, joyfully. 

“We certainly do!” said Jack. “And let the girls 
go on their vacations as they had planned.” 

“Just for a little while, then,” urged Marjorie. 
“To await developments. It would mean so much to 
me! Will you, girls?” 

“I will!” announced Daisy. 

“And I!” added Ethel. 

“I will too,” said Lily, after some hesitation. 

“You can count on me,” remarked Alice. 

“And Florence and Marie Louise start on their 
vacations tomorrow, anyhow,” said Marjorie. “So 
I guess we’re all right. I think I’ll put an ad in the 
paper tomorrow for a new cook. We may get an 
answer if I don’t mention the tea-house till I see 
the applicant.” 

“I—don’t—think—you’ll—need—a new cook!” 
remarked Ethel, slowly, with her eyes fixed on a dis¬ 
tant point. “If I’m not mistaken, I see your old 
cook coming back!” 

“What?” cried Marjorie, jumping up in excite¬ 
ment. “Ethel, is it—can it be—?” 

“Yes, it is Anna!” she replied. “She’s opening 
the gate now!” 

All the girls rushed with one accord down the 
porch steps, towards the girl in a white dress, who 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


135 


slowly, f alter ingly, made her way up the walk. She 
walked uncertainly, as if she were weak or ill, and 
scarcely acknowledged their noisy welcome. Mar¬ 
jorie and Ethel hastened to her support, one on each 
side of her. 

“Where have you been?” demanded Lily, breath¬ 
lessly. 

“What happened ?” asked Alice. 

But Anna only half closed her eyes and sighed. 
Even in the darkness the girls could see how pale 
and tired she was. 

“I’m very hungry!” she said, at last. 

Florence and Alice ran into the house to find Mrs. 
Munsen to prepare food and a stimulant, while the 
others almost carried the exhausted girl to the couch. 
They were so impatient in their curiosity that they 
could not refrain from asking one question after 
another. But Anna maintained an indifferent 
silence. 

In a few minutes Mrs. Munsen returned with 
some broth, and, for the first time, Anna manifested 
interest. She ate and drank greedily, as if she had 
been fasting for the last twenty-four hours. 

At last, when she seemed partially satisfied, she 
leaned back against the cushions of the davenport 
and began to talk. 

“How long have I been gone?” she asked. 

“Not quite a day,” replied Marjorie. “Your aunt 


136 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


said it all happened about one o'clock last night.” 

“Where have you been ?” demanded Florence, too 
impatient to wait for the story. 

“In the cellar at the tea-house!” 

“But you haven't!'' cried two or three of the girls 
at once. 

“We searched every corner of it, and so did the 
policemen!” explained Lily. 

“Then I don't know where I was,” said Anna, as 
if she resented the contradiction. 

“Well, where did you come from tonight?” in¬ 
quired Ethel. 

“From the cellar, I tell you! I came up stairs and 
let myself out of the front door. I saw your sleepy 
old policemen smoking in the rose arbor, but they 
never noticed me come out of the house. That's 
all the good they are!” 

“I never did think much of them!” remarked 
Ethel. 

“Tell us everything—please—from the begin¬ 
ning!” begged Marjorie, unable to repress the ex¬ 
citement she felt in finding Anna really alive. 

“I’ve told you about all there is to tell,” said Anna, 
wearily. “Except that I had a warning from the 
spirit world—for you girls!” 

“A warning?” repeated Marie Louise, her eyes 
wide open in amazement. “Oh, girls, what did I 
tell you!” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


137 


“Go on—go on, Anna!” urged Marjorie. 

“Well, I guess my aunt told you that I went down 
stairs to make sure we had locked the back door, 
because I thought I heard some noises back by the 
stable. Well, when I found that it was surely 
locked, I started through the hall to the stairs again. 
I got to the cellar—” 

“You didn’t go down the cellar!” cried Alice, in 
horror. “Not alone?” 

“No! I fell down the cellar!” announced Anna, 
“Some of the boys had been joking about looking 
for ghosts down the cellar, and had gone down dur¬ 
ing the evening. They must have left the door all 
the way open, and I guess I walked into the cellar¬ 
way instead of coming back through the hall, and 
tumbled full length to the bottom.” 

“Heavens!” exclaimed Mrs. Munsen; “it’s a 
blessing you weren’t killed!” 

“Did you scream?” demanded Marjorie. 

“I don’t know—I honestly don’t remember any¬ 
thing clear till I woke up at the bottom of the 
steps, right before I came here!” 

“But Anna, you couldn’t have been there all the 
time!” protested Ethel. “The policemen searched 
the place thoroughly last night, and two of the girls 
went over the whole house this morning!” 

“All right, then,” said Anna, sulkily; “I dreamt 
it!” 


138 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“But tell us about the message,” pleaded Marie 
Louise, longing to hear more of the weird story the 
girl had hinted at. 

“But you won’t believe that either!” muttered 
Anna. 

“Yes, yes, we will!” cried Lily. “Please tell us!’' 

“Well,” said Anna, “once I seemed to be roused 
up from my trance or sleep or whatever you call it 
by a series of knocks. I opened my eyes, but it was 
so dark that I couldn’t see nothing. Then I heard a 
hollow voice say: 

“ TELL THOSE GIRLS TO LEAVE THIS 
HOUSE. IT IS HAUNTED!’ ” 

“What kind of voice?” demanded Marjorie, in a 
hoarse whisper. 

“A spirit’s voice, I tell you! Now—I’ve told you 
everything I know—won’t you please let me go to 
bed?” 

“Oh, you poor girl!” exclaimed Mrs. Munsen, in 
a motherly tone. “How selfish we have been! How 
thoughtless! You shall go to bed right away!” 

As soon as the girl was gone, John Hadley offered 
to drive over to Mrs. McCreedy’s with the good 
news; and the others settled down to talk the whole 
thing over. 

“She couldn’t have been down the cellar all that 
time!” said Marjorie. “Lily and I know that!” 

“Could she possibly have been covered up by some 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


139 


of the packing—or hidden away in a dark corner.’’ 
s ugge s ted Ethel. 

“No—we searched everywhere 1” 

“Then you don’t think she is telling the truth?” 
asked Alice. 

“No, I don’t!” said Marjorie. “She has been some 
place that she doesn’t want us to know about!” 

“How suspicious you are, Marj!” laughed Jack. 

“The spirit explanation isn’t possible?” asked 
Lily. 

This opened a new topic of speculation, and the 
young people continued to discuss the affair from 
every possible angle, until Marie Louise, who had 
been summoned to the telephone soon after Anna 
went to bed, returned to the room and interrupted 
the conversation by a startling announcement. 

“That phone call,” she said, “was from a reporter, 
and I gave him the whole story.” 

“Yes,” said Marjorie. “But how did you put it 
—what explanation did you give?” 

“I told him,” replied the girl calmly, “the facts 
just as Anna stated them—with the haunted house 
as the explanation.” 

“Oh!” gasped Marjorie, sinking limply back into 
her chair. “Now we are ruined!” 

“But how?” asked Marie Louise, in astonishment. 

“Every paper in the city will get the story tomor¬ 
row, and it will be the end of our business!” 


140 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“On the contrary, Sis,” put in Jack, “it will be the 
beginning of business! Just wait and see the flock 
of curious people that come—” 

“Marjorie,” interrupted Lily, in a most serious 
tone, “I think we ought to do something to unravel 
this mystery!” 

“Yes,” added Marie Louise; “let’s get a spiritual¬ 
ist—a medium—to help us!” 

“Not much!” cried Jack. “Give us fellows a 
chance. We can do more with a little team-work 
than all the mediums in the world!” 

“Suppose,” said Marjorie, “we decided all that 
tomorrow. We need rest as well as Anna—so—I 
move we adjourn!” 

“And I second that motion,” said Ethel, with a 
yawn. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


141 


CHAPTER XII. 

Doris's dinner party. 

A week passed by, and no discoveries were made, 
no clues found that might lead to the explanation of 
Anna's strange disappearance. The policemen, who 
had slept at the tea-house regularly every night, were 
resigning their posts in disgust. Even Marjorie be¬ 
gan to wonder whether the mystery would ever be 
solved. 

Aside from the shock to Anna's nerves, there had 
been no evil effects from the unusual episode. The 
wide publicity given by the newspapers had pro¬ 
duced the same results as an expensive advertising 
campaign; indeed, the girls were now making money 
so fast that Marjorie found herself in a position to 
pay back a hundred dollars of the loan to Mr. An¬ 
drews. Her one serious problem was help in the 
kitchen. 

After a great deal of persuasion, Anna had been 
induced to resume her office as cook, providing, 
however, that she be excused from night duty, that 
she never be obliged to remain at the house alone v 


142 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


and that the cellar be kept permanently locked. 
Marjorie had been only too glad to comply with 
these requests, and rejoiced greatly in having her 
again. But, even with her return, they were handi¬ 
capped; they needed more waitresses. 

The boys, true to their word, came to the tea¬ 
house every evening as soon as they had finished 
supper, and took their posts in the kitchen, acting 
in whatever capacity they were needed, and remain¬ 
ing, after the girls went home, to put the place 
to rights, and to lock up for the night. Without 
their assistance Marjorie felt that the work could 
not have gone on; for everyone of the five remaining 
scouts had to serve both afternoon and evening, 
since Florence and Marie Louise had gone on their 
vacations. 

“We’ve simply got to get a couple of maids,” re¬ 
marked Marjorie, one evening when she lay on the 
bed in her own room, particularly exhausted from 
a strenuous day’s work. “We can’t keep this up 
much longer.” 

“No, it’s a terrible strain never to have a single 
afternoon off,” agreed Lily. “And that reminds 
me—what shall we do about that dinner invitation 
from Doris?” 

“When is it?” asked her companion. 

“Next Wednesday. And she wants you and me 
and Ethel all to go.” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


143 


“Of course that’s out of the question!” sighed 
Marjorie. “Unless we could engage two wait¬ 
resses.” 

“Is it because of the added expense that you 
haven’t done it before?” asked Lily. 

“Partly. But you know I did put in an ad early 
this week; and two or three applicants showed up, 
but were scared off because of the ghost story. 
In that way our publicity has hurt us.” 

“But you really can’t blame them for that.” 

“No—I suppose not. But I do wish we could 
clear up the mystery, and go ahead on the reputa¬ 
tion we’ve made.” 

“Yes, I do too,” agreed Lily. Then, gathering 
up her fancy-work, she said, “I guess you need to 
go to sleep, Marj, so I’ll clear out. Oh, here comes 
Ethel, anyhow!” 

“Hello, girls!” said Marjorie’s room-mate, as 
she entered through the open door. “What’s the 
trouble, Marj ?” 

“Just tired—that’s all!” 

“Well, I’m sorry to say you’ll be more tired next 
week,” remarked the other girl, in a matter-of-fact 
tone. “Because Marie Louise writes that she can’t 
come back.” 

“Marie Louise isn’t coming back from her vaca¬ 
tion?” repeated Marjorie. “But she’ll have to—it’s 
Lily’s and Daisy’s turn to go!” 


144 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“Exactly—so we’ll be three girls short—four 
waitresses instead of five.” 

“Oh!” gasped Marjorie. “We can’t do it! Un¬ 
less somebody answers the advertisement right 
away.” 

“Have you put it in the papers again?” asked 
Ethel, with her usual display of practicality. 

“No, I haven’t,” admitted her room-mate. 

“Then I’ll go phone it now!” announced Ethel, 
leaving the room immediately. 

“She certainly is a jewel,” remarked Marjorie, 
after Ethel had gone. 

“Marj,” said Lily, slowly, as if she had been 
considering the offer she was about to make, “I will 
give up my vacation if you don’t get any hired help. 
That will make up for Marie Louise.” 

“Really, Lil ?” cried Marjorie, jumping up and 
throwing her arms about her chum. “Do you 
honestly mean it?” 

“Yes, of course I do!” 

“But you’ll be too tired to go back to college in 
the fall!” 

“Not if we close the tea-house right after Labor 
Day as we have planned. I’ll still have two weeks 
before the term begins.” 

Marjorie felt thankful for such staunch friends; 
and when, the following day, Daisy also offered to 
give up her vacation if necessary, and Agnes Taylor 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


145 


and two of her friends insisted upon substituting 
as waitresses so that the girls could go to Doris’s 
dinner party, she felt elated indeed. Her one disap¬ 
pointment was her failure to hire any help. 

In the course of the three days following Ethel’s 
insertion of the advertisement in the papers, half a 
dozen girls applied for the positions, but none of 
them accepted it. As soon as they learned that the 
tea-house was the scene of the strange events which 
had been recounted in the newspapers, and that it 
was reported to be haunted, they all refused to con¬ 
sider Marjorie’s generous offer. If only, the girl 
thought, the reporters had not gone so into detail, 
had not recalled to the public mind the series of 
deaths that had occurred there several years be¬ 
fore! 

When the time for Doris’s party arrived, how¬ 
ever, Marjorie made up her mind not to allow her 
anxieties to mar the pleasure of the event for herself 
or for the others. She was lucky enough to be able 
to go away with a free conscience, and she meant to 
enjoy her brief holiday to the fullest extent. 

John Hadley drove over for the girls in his Ford 
a little before six and found all three of them wait¬ 
ing on the porch. Marjorie’s brother Jack was in 
the front seat beside him. 

“I wonder who is to be the third man?” observed 
Marjorie, as she climbed into the place Jack vacated. 


140 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“But do you have to ask?” teased John, with a 
sly glance at Lily. 

“Oh, Dick Roberts, I suppose!” laughed Mar¬ 
jorie. “Well—where is he?” 

“He’s coming out from work on the train,” re¬ 
plied John. “I told him there wouldn’t be room in 
my poor little Ford.” 

The drive to Doris’s house was a short one, al¬ 
though on such an evening as this, Marjorie would 
not have been sorry to have it much longer. She 
was glad, however, to see Doris again. 

The bride was waiting for them in the hammock* 
her adoring husband beside her. 

“It certainly is lovely to be here again,” said Mar¬ 
jorie, as the girls followed their hostess up stairs. 
“We haven’t seen as much of you as we would like, 
Doris.” 

Doris blushed guiltily. 

“I know—I’m positively ashamed of myself. 
But housekeeping does take a good deal of time— 
I only have Ella one day a week, you know, and on 
special occasions like this—and then Roger is sort 
of afraid of that place for me. I know it’s silly—” 

“Oh, I don’t blame him a bit!” Marjorie hastened 
to reassure her. “Nobody wants to take chances 
like that. But you just wait! I resolved today that 
we’ve got to solve that mystery!” 

“How?” asked Doris, in breathless interest. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


147 


“I don’t know. Let’s wait till we get down stairs 
and talk it over with the boys. Maybe they can sug¬ 
gest something.” 

“All right!” Then, turning to Lily, “That’s the 
most adorable dress, Lil! I’ll wager it came straight 
from Paris!” 

“The modiste claimed it did!” laughed Lily, 
pleased at the other girl’s admiration. “And since 
this is our first party in Philadelphia, I felt as if I 
had to wear it.” 

“I’m awfully glad you did,” replied her hostess, 
beaming. Doris was perfectly happy in her new 
surroundings. 

When the girls came down stairs again, they 
found that Dick Roberts had arrived, and, before 
they even had a chance to be seated, dinner was 
announced. 

The dining-room table, with its candles, its 
flowers, and its shining new silver, looked as at¬ 
tractive as the rest of the furnishings, and the girls 
could not help exclaiming informally at its beauty. 
From the very beginning of the affair, the party 
promised to be a success. The dinner was as 
appetizing as if it had been prepared by a French 
chef; the hostess was at her best; and the guests 
entered heartily into the general gaiety. They talked 
of everything under the sun except the strange oc¬ 
currences at the tea-house; everyone seemed loath to 


148 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


mention a subject that even bordered on the un¬ 
pleasant. 

“I’m going to be very informal,” announced Doris, 
as they finally rose from the table, “and ask you 
what you would like to do. Dance—play bridge— 
have the radio—?” 

“No!” interrupted Marjorie, laughingly. “Those 
things are all nice, but let’s just talk! It’s so warm, 
and your porch looks alluring.” 

“All right—fine!” agreed Doris. “At least if that 
plan suits everybody.” 

“Admirably,” said Jack, lighting the cigarette his 
host had just offered him. 

When they were all comfortably seated on the 
porch, Roger himself brought up the subject of the 
tea-house mystery. 

“Any more excitement at the tea-house?’ he asked, 
carelessly. 

“Not a bit!” sighed Marjorie. “And the police¬ 
men have given us up as hopeless.” 

“I imagine they thought Anna was hysterical, and 
dreamed it all,” said Ethel. 

“Maybe she did!” laughed Jack. 

“By the way,” put in Lily, “I forgot to tell you 
that our elderly friend—the man who came on open¬ 
ing day, you remember, Marj—was in yesterday, 
and said he had passed by late one night last week 
and heard some queer noises. He said he and an- 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


149 

other man walked around to the garage, but they 
couldn’t get in.” 

‘‘Rubbish!” exclaimed Ethel, in contempt. 

“All I know is,” said Marjorie, “that I wish we 
could find some explanation to come out with in the 
newspapers. The story is so common all over the 
city that I can’t induce any maids to take the posi¬ 
tions as waitresses.” 

“And we certainly do need them!” sighed Ethel. 
“Do you know that I think those policemen 
weren’t much good after all!” observed Lily. “Now, 
if we could induce our old friend to watch for us 
some night—” 

“I wouldn’t take a chance,” said Marjorie. “For 
he sort of half believes the stories—” 

“But if there are strange goings-on, as he said—” 
“Sis!” interrupted Jack seized by a sudden in¬ 
spiration. “Let us fellows—” 

“Which fellows?” asked Marjorie, sure of what 
he was about to suggest 
“Why, all of us—” 

“No,” replied Marjorie, “I know what you are 
going to say—you want to stay all night at the tea¬ 
house. But Roger is a married man, and John is 
an only son—” 

“Well, then, the rest of us!” 

“I might consider that,” replied Marjorie, 


150 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


thoughtfully. “But of course you would need revol¬ 
vers.” 

“Naturally,” agreed Jack, his face alight with ex¬ 
citement at the prospect of the adventure. “I'll call 
up the other fellows tomorrow morning.” 

“One thing I insist upon, though,” added Mar¬ 
jorie; “if you people get through the night without 
any adventures, some of us are going to do it later 
on!” 

“Oh, no!” protested John, in horror. 

“Is it a bargain?” asked Marjorie, appealing to 
her brother. 

“Yes,” agreed Jack, finally. “It wouldn’t be fair 
not to let you.” 

“Oh, Marj, don’t!” pleaded Doris. “Something 
dreadful might happen.” 

But Marjorie only smiled at her fears. 

“I know mother wouldn’t want me to miss the 
fun,” said John; “but of course I’ll consult her. 
Still, I think you can count on me, Wilkinson.” 

Much as Roger would have enjoyed the adven¬ 
ture, he was too thoughtful of Doris to suggest go¬ 
ing in for it. And so the party of six were ar¬ 
ranged for. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


151 


CHAPTER XIII. 

THE NIGHT AT THE TEA-HOUSE. 

The six boys who were preparing to spend the 
night at the tea-house stopped at Harris’s early after 
supper on the day selected for their adventure. All 
the girls except those who were on their vacations 
were waiting on the porch to see them. 

“Tell us what you are taking!” begged Marjorie, 
as they came up on the porch. 

“Well, let’s see,” said John. “Not a whole lot— 
a blanket apiece—” 

“Oh, I don’t mean that kind of things!” inter¬ 
rupted Marjorie. “I mean interesting things!” 

“Oh—well, a revolver apiece, flash-lights, ciga¬ 
rettes, matches, and so forth. By the way, is any¬ 
body going to get us any breakfast tomorrow morn¬ 
ing?” 

“We’ll all be down early,” said Lily. “I for one 
don’t expect to sleep a wink!” 

“Just watch her!” laughed Marjorie. 

“Well, I hope we do get a little excitment out of 


152 


THE GIRL SCOUTS* 


it,” remarked Jack. ‘Til certainly be disappointed 
if nothing more happens to us than to those cops.” 

“Jack, you oughtn’t to talk that way, remonstrated 
Daisy, who in reality was as worried as Lily and 
Doris. “Suppose something awful does happen!” 

“Suppose we see spirits, like Anna!” remarked 
Jack. “And make you girls fiddle with ouija boards 
and go to seances in darkened rooms—” 

“At least it would be thrilling,” remarked Ethel. 
“But I never will believe anything till I see for my¬ 
self.” 

“Your turn’s coming, Ethel,” said Marjorie. 
“You and I are going to spend a night there soon.” 

“Oh, please don’t!” begged Lily; but both girls 
laughed at her. 

The boys stayed until ten o’clock, and Marjorie 
and Ethel told all the gruesome, ghostly stories they 
could think of; but without any effect whatever, for 
the boys went off as cheerful as ever and as light¬ 
hearted. 

It was a still night A full moon, which seemed 
to be suspended in an inanimate sky, made the road 
before them easily distinguishable in the darkness. 
There was something peculiar in the appearance of 
the moon, and even the sky looked strange. The 
boys commented upon it. But they could not make 
up their minds that it was a feeling of suppressed 
excitement within them, and not the moon and the 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


153 


sky, which made them feel that something was 
about to happen. 

“I’ll bet it rains tomorrow,” remarked John. 
‘‘Maybe tonight. Look at those clouds up there— 
hardly moving. It’s sultry, too; not a leaf stirring.” 

“Guess you’re right,” assented Jack. “Once we 
get inside the house, let it come, say I; and the 
spirits can bring their umbrellas with them. Gee! 
but it’s hot!” 

“You speak the truth,” said Bill Warner, who 
was rather stout. “Let’s walk a little slower; the 
ghosts will wait.” 

“Yes; this blanket of mine is getting unwieldy.” 

“Let’s take our coats off,” suggested Dick. “We’re 
not likely to meet any one between here and the tea¬ 
house at this time of night.” 

They followed his suggestion, and walked along 
in silence for awhile, with their hats in their hands 
and their jackets across their arms. Then Pierce 
Ellison said: 

“Too bad we didn’t come in your tea-pot, Had¬ 
ley.” 

“Too much noise,” replied John. “I don’t know 
what all of your opinions are about this mystery, 
but it’s mine that it’s a human agency. Have any 
of you fellows anything in the back of your heads 
that you haven’t spoken of—for fear of alarming the 


154 


THE GIRL SCOUTS* 


girls, or any other reason ? It might give us a clue, 
you know. Something to work on.” 

“Not a glimmer,” answered someone. 

“I agree with Hadley,” said Jack. “What was 
the cause of those three deaths in close succession 
in the Scott family ? Pure coincidence. Then there’s 
the stories of the horse and the stray dog. They 
may be coincidence, too; yet, I confess it seems 
funny that they happened as they did. But this 
business of Anna is different. I, for one, believe 
that something actually happened to the girl; but 
I can’t guess what. She’s too muddled herself to 
know much about it.” 

“So do I,” agreed John. “I believe her; I had 
a talk with Anna. Her eyes looked right when 
she told me about it. And she showed me great 
black and blue marks on her arms, that could only 
have been made by strong hands—human hands! I 
believe her.” 

“Yes; but Marjorie has an idea that she was 
galavanting around somewheres.” 

“I don’t think,” said John, “that it is so much 
that Marjorie believes that herself as it is that 
she wants the others to believe it. Marjorie’s one 
thought is to remove suspicion from the tea-house.” 

Jack, who was walking next to John, glanced 
hastily at him, surprised at this insight into the mind 
of his sister. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


155 


“I hadn’t thought of that,” he admitted, “Well, 
we’re here, fellows. Let’s get into the house as 
quietly and as quickly as possible. I’ll go first with 
the key.” 

They paused in the road and looked over the 
hedge. 

The tea-house lay silent in the moonlight, which 
emphasized the roof and chimneys and was reflected 
in the upper windows, but left the lower part in 
shadow. 

They passed swiftly into the house, and without 
making a light, entered the rest-room and tossed 
their blankets into a corner. Their footsteps and 
subdued voices sounded strangely in the closed 
house. John turned on his pocket flash and ex¬ 
amined the rooms downstairs. Apparently every¬ 
thing remained as the girls had left it. He tried 
all the windows and doors, and found them locked; 
then returned to the others. 

“While you fellows make yourselves comfortable. 
I’ll step outside and take a look around,” he said. 
“If you hear me poking around, don’t take me for 
a ghost.” 

Outside, he found the atmosphere hot and oppres¬ 
sive. He walked leisurely beneath the trees, look¬ 
ing about him. Around at the back, everything 
seemed right enough; the stable was a deep black 
shadow, barely distinguishable beneath the low- 


156 


THE GIRL SCOUTS* 


hanging branches of intervening trees. John strolled 
around to the rose-arbor, where the air was heavy 
with an odor of sweetness from the blooms, and 
stood for a minute considering whether it would be 
advisable for him to sit there while he smoked a 
cigarette. The others would miss him, and w^ould 
probably come searching for him. He decided 
against it, turned, and went in. 

The boys had spread several of the army blankets 
upon the floor, and were lying flat on their backs 
side by side, telling each other the most harrowing 
tales they had ever read or heard of. This Jack 
discovered when he almost fell over them; for in the 
darkness he could not see the prostrate forms. They 
were so absorbed in a weird story Eugene Schofield 
was telling that they failed to take notice of his re¬ 
turn, except to make room for him as he felt his 
way among them and stretched himself upon the 
blankets. John smiled to himself as he listened to 
the hushed, tense voice of the narrator, and realized 
that, boylike, they were working themselves up to a 
fine pitch of excitement for spending the night in 
such a place. 

“That was a corker!” commented one, as Eugene 
finished his story amid murmurs of approval from 
the other boys. “Did they ever find out what be¬ 
came of him?’* 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


157 


“Say, fellows,” interrupted Jack, “it’s as close as 
the deuce in here. Let's have some air.” 

The boy nearest the windows opened them. Then 
someone else commenced another story. John 
listened for awhile, watching the glow of Jack's 
cigarette, until a feeling of drowsiness, which he 
was unable to cast off, came over him, and he slept. 

He dreamed that he was pursued. He knew that 
he was dreaming, for he could still hear the murmur 
of the boys' voices, very far off. He could not have 
explained what it was that was after him; it was 
formless, indescribable. And yet it seemed to have 
form, too, or at least bulk; and as he fled it seemed 
to roll after him with an overwhelming presence. He 
could feel himself escaping, as if into a narrow 
cavern which became smaller and smaller, while he 
too diminished in size; yet all the while the presence 
was after him, and he could feel, rather than see, a 
mass like a great ball, which appeared to grow 
larger and more overpowering as it approached. As 
it was attempting to cram itself into the entrance 
of the cavern, oppressing him horribly, he woke up. 

He knew that a door had blown shut, and that 
the noise had wakened him. A strong wind which 
smelt of rain was blowing in through the open win¬ 
dows, and it chilled him. He got up and closed 
the windows, and going over to the fire-place, 
tossed in some chips and set a match to them think- 


158 


THE GIEL SCOUTS’ 


ing it would be more cheerful to have even a tiny 
fire. As the chips caught, the dim light showed the 
boys lying in the middle of the floor, several of them 
asleep, and the rest still listening to ghost stories. 
John lay down again and watched the grotesque 
shadows, cast by the fire, flickering about on the ceil¬ 
ing. But the effect upon him was like hypnotism, 
and he could feel himself again sinking into slumber, 
when a faint noise outside brought him suddenly to 
his feet, wide-awake. He stood there, alert and listen¬ 
ing. The others seemed not to have noticed any¬ 
thing, except his sudden rising, and looked up at 
him inquiringly. John merely placed a finger to his 
lips, and listened. He could now hear distinctly the 
steps of someone approaching up the driveway. 
They were coming toward the house. Who could it 
be, he wondered. Not one of the girls, at this time 
of the night? No, it was a man’s firm tread. An 
officer, who had noticed their light from the road, 
and was coming to investigate? What a fool he 
was to have made a light! These thoughts flashed 
through his mind with lightning rapidity. 

“Don’t move!” he commanded. “Someone is com- 
mg! 

They waited, rigid with expectancy. 

The heavy tread sounded upon the porch; there 
was an instant’s pause, and then came a knocking at 
the screen door. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


159 


John strode across the room, shot back the heavy 
bolt, and opened the door. 

“I saw your light,” said a rough voice, apolo¬ 
getically. 

“Well, what do you want?” demanded John, 
sharply; for he noticed that the man was trying to 
look past him, into the room beyond. 

“I want to know whether Bill Smith lives here,” 
said the rough voice, a little louder than before. 

“No,” answered John; “he doesn’t.” 

“He don’t? Well, he lives around here some- 
wheres, and I thought it was here.” 

In the dim light John could just make out, be¬ 
neath a slouch hat, that the man had a large nose 
and a heavy moustache. He also noted that his 
breath smelled strongly of liquor. 

“I’m very sorry. I don’t know anyone of that 
name,” repeated John—“as common as the name 
is,” he added, as an afterthought. 

He could see that the man was grinning as he 
turned away. 

“All right!” he called out over his shoulder. 
“Sorry I troubled you fellows!” 

John watched the retreating figure pass out of the 
drive. When he reached the road, the man paused 
for a moment, looked back towards the house, then 
up and down the road, and finally walked away. 

John stood at the open door for several minutes, 


160 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


waiting to see whether the man would return. When 
he turned back into the room his brows were drawn 
together and he was thinking hard. 

“Now I wonder what he really wanted?” he asked. 

“Wanted? You heard what he said, didn’t you?” 
said Bill Warner. “He wanted Bill Smith.” 

“Bah!” exploded Jack. “The first name on 
the tip of his tongue—Bill Smith! He wanted to 
see what was going on in here, most likely.” 

“I’m an ass not to have followed that fellow,” an¬ 
nounced John. “Of course, he might have wanted 
Bill Smith; but there was something about the look 
of him that made me doubt it, even while he was 
standing there.” 

“What did he look like ?” 

“Oh, a stage villain. Big nose and moustache— 
and a funny grin. But I couldn’t see much through 
the screen-door.” 

“A tramp ?” suggested one. 

John shook his head. 

“Too well dressed—or ‘dressed up,’ if you know 
what I mean. More like a rough-neck.” 

“Then what the deuce could he want here, if not 
to find Bill Smith?” persisted Bill Warner. 

John only shrugged his shoulders, and thrusting 
his hands into his trousers pockets, commenced 
pacing up and down the room. The rest sat quite 
still, turning the occurrence over in their minds. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


161 


“Do you suppose he figured on robbing the 
place ?” inquired Jack. 

John stopped pacing to consider the suggestion. 

“People can’t help but see that this tea-room is 
taking in money,” continued Jack. “If this fellow 
knew about it, perhaps he thought the girls might 
leave the money here overnight.” 

“Maybe,” said John. “But I doubt it. If he 
came to burgle he would have sneaked in, and see¬ 
ing a light, would have gone away again. No, he 
came up boldly enough.” 

“Maybe he thought there were nothing but girls in 
here.” 

“True,” admitted John. “It was my first thought 
that he might be the human agency we are looking 
for.” 

“But what would the motive be?” 

“Search me! Well, there’s no use of our specu¬ 
lating about it; we’re not getting anywhere. But 
just the same, I think I was a fool not to follow 
the fellow,” concluded John; and he stretched out 
before the fire again. 

The boys were quiet for some time, each occupied 
with his own thoughts. Several had already dozed 
off when Jack finally got up and threw more wood 
on the fire. 

“He sure did have some breath on him,” said 
John. 


162 THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 

Jack started and stared down at him. 

“Heh ? Are you talking in your sleep ?” 

“No,” laughed John. “I merely remarked that 
that tramp, or whatever you want to call him, had 
some breath on him. It smelt so strong of alcohol, 
I’ll bet if you held a lighted match under his chin, 
he’d breathe a blue flame.” 

“Aw, you go on!” growled Dick Roberts. “Say, 
aren’t you chaps ever going to sleep? Why don’t 
you quit thinking about such things ?” 

“That’s pretty good advice,” yawned John. “I 
guess I will turn in.” 

He rummaged in the corner for his own blanket, 
rolled up in it, and prepared to sleep. Jack followed 
his example, lying down beside him. Then Pierce 
Ellison and Eugene Schofield, the only ones who 
were still sitting up, decided to join them. 

“Why don’t you two fellows go upstairs and use 
the army-cots,” suggested John. “It’s silly to let 
them go to waste.” 

“Never thought of it,” answered Pierce. “What 
do you say, Gene?” 

“I don’t mind—if none of the others want them.” 

“There’s no one left,” said John. “Go to it!” 

“How about you, Jack?” offered Pierce. 

“I wouldn’t move for the world,” replied that 
person. “Half of me is asleep already.” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 163 

'‘All right then. Good night! Call us if you 
need any help.” 

“No such luck! Good night!” 

When John lay down he had every intention of 
going to sleep; but he found that it was not so easy 
as he thought. He envied Jack, who was already 
breathing regularly by his side. No doubt the nap 
he had earlier in the evening took the edge from his 
fatigue; but he was also conscious of an inward state 
of excitement which was far from conducive to 
sleep. He smiled to himself as he analyzed his own 
feelings: he had always regarded himself as a 
steady, common-place sort of creature, not a bit ex¬ 
citable; in fact, at school he had had a reputation 
of being particularly reliable, a cool hand in a tight 
place. When he had pitched on his school nine, his 
team-mates learned that there was no danger of his 
becoming rattled simply because there was three 
men on base at a time when an additional run 
would lose the game for them; in such situations 
John Hadley always pitched his best. 

■ He knew that his present restlessness was not due 
to fear of anything, either natural or supernatural, 
that might happen; he even longed for action as a 
means of relieving the tension. He was surprised at 
the number of strange sounds a house will make 
during the night; at every creak and rattle he would 
prick up his ears. One noise in particular, which 


164 


THE GIKL SCOUTS’ 


seemed to come from upstairs, startled him; but he 
exerted his will power, and refrained from inves¬ 
tigating; for he could hear Eugene Schofield clear 
his throat from time to time, and knew thereby that 
he too was still awake. 

“I am entirely too anxious for something to hap¬ 
pen,” he told himself. 

So he forced himself to think of other things, 
tried to relax as much as possible, and to lie per¬ 
fectly still. It was then that he realized how much 
the other boys were tossing about, even though they 
slept. Occasionaly someone would murmur in¬ 
articulately. 

“Too many ghost stories for you,” thought John. 
“Yet you sleep, while I stay awake. Well, I guess 
I’m just as well satisfied at that. Why should I 
care whether I go to sleep or not ? If I stay awake, 
so much the better if anything does happen; it’s 
what I’m here for, anyway. And this certainly is 
better than having a nightmare.” 

It was after he took this attitude that he finally 
dozed off. The next thing he knew he was standing 
up, wide awake. He could not tell how long he had 
slept, but it was evidently not long; for the coals in 
the fire-place were still glowing, and giving off 
enough light for him to distinguish the sleeping form 
of Jack. He could not remember the act of get¬ 
ting up; yet he was standing upright when con- 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


165 


sciousness had come to him. Was it a condition of 
over-wrought nerves, or had some unusual sound 
aroused him? 

Without the wind was blowing in sudden gusts, 
rattling the sashes in the windows. At intervals a 
pale light shone through the panes for an instant, 
and a few seconds after came the distant rumble of 
thunder. 

“Just as I thought,” reflected John. “The storm’s 
coming this way—coming fast!” 

He was suddenly aware of a peculiar sound of 
something grinding and straining, which terminated 
in a hollow thud. Instantly he became alert, strain¬ 
ing his ears for a repetition of the noise. It came 
again, in a strange creaking, as if someone were 
trying to pry open a shutter. Then he thought he 
could hear a step on the back porch. John was sure, 
this time, that the moment for action had come. 
But he hesitated, thinking quickly. The sound was 
at the back of the house. 

He put his hand upon the revolver in his hip 
pocket. Should he awaken the others, or go alone? 
He must act quickly. If he went prowling about by 
himself, the others might hear him, and become 
alarmed; they might even mistake him for an in¬ 
truder, and fire at him. 

While he stood there considering, the noise oc¬ 
curred again; there was a movement at his feet. 


166 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


and he looked and saw Jack’s head raised in a 
listening attitude. Then Jack turned to look at 
the place where John had been lying, and beheld him 
standing over him, and he sat up quickly. 

“I heard something!” he whispered. 

John nodded his head. 

“Let’s wake the others,” he said, stooping down 
and putting his mouth close to Jack’s ear. “Then 
let’s you and me investigate. It’s around back— 
sounds as if somebody’s trying to jimmy a shutter 
as quietly as possible. We’ll go out the front and 
surprise them from the rear.” 

“How shall we wake the others without making 
a noise?” asked Jack. 

“Put your hand over their mouths and say ‘Sh!’ 
as soon as they move. 

Jack signified that he understood; and they tip¬ 
toed about the room arousing their unconscious 
comrades, succeeding in doing so without causing 
one surprised exclamation. Nevertheless, they were 
surprised, but too dazed by the sudden awakening 
to understand anything. 

“Don’t talk! Don’t move! unless we call,” 
ordered John, in a hoarse whisper. 

And without further explanation, he and Jack 
slipped quietly out the front door. Each had a re¬ 
volver in his hand. As they stepped out into the 
driveway their feet crunched alarmingly upon the 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


167 


gravel. John caught Jack’s arm and drew him be¬ 
neath the lilac bushes at the corner of the house. 
Then they commenced a stealthy advance towards 
the rear, keeping as much as possible within the 
shadows. When they had circled about the rear 
wing, John dropped on his hands and knees and 
peered cautiously around the corner, commanding a 
view of the back door and part of the tea-room. 
In the darkness he could not see anything; for the 
moon had been obscured by a mass of heavy black 
clouds. He stepped back and consulted with Jack 
in a whisper, and together they waited to see whether 
the next flash of lightning would reveal anything to 
their straining eyes. It came soon, a sharp jagged 
fork of light which seemed to trickle across the sky, 
followed almost instantly by a peal of thunder; for 
the storm was almost upon them. For a moment 
everything was as bright as in daylight; then was 
immediately plunged into darkness. But the flash 
had lasted long enough for them to see that no one 
was about. As the thunder died away in the dis¬ 
tance, the only sound they could hear was the soft 
patter of the coming rain upon the leaves of the 
trees. 

“Let’s go out in the open,” said Jack. “Let’s take 
a hasty look around and then beat it in again. We’ll 
soon be soaked if we don’t.” 

They darted quickly here and there, examining 


168 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


dark corners of the lawn, looking into bushes, and 
behind tree trunks. The rain was coming faster, 
the lightning flashed incessantly, and the continuous 
roll of the thunder made talk impossible. 

‘‘Here she comes!” cried John, as the rain 
descended in torrents. “Let the stable go. Run for 
the back door!” 

In another moment they were under cover. 

“We’ll have to knock!” shouted Jack, raising his 
voice above the storm. 

“Yes. But wait a minute; there’s one place we 
didn’t look.” 

John fumbled for his flash and turned it on, point¬ 
ing it out into the rain. Jack could not see a yard 
through the downpour, but he was suddenly aware 
that John was referring to the sloping door which 
covered the steps leading from the cellar out into 
the yard at the rear of the tea-room. 

“Ye Gods!” cried Jack. “I never thought of it. 
And it’s never locked—the bolt’s off!” 

“But we mustn’t go in from the outside. It’s too 
much of a risk. We’ll get the fellows to let us in; 
then we’ll go down from the inside. If there’s any¬ 
one down there, they could never get away so fast 
that we won’t get them.” 

“Right!” agreed Jack. 

They pounded on the door. Once inside the door¬ 
way, the excited boys crowded around them. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


169 


“We were just thinking about going out to look 
for you two,” said Dick Roberts. “What news?” 

“None! The rain cut short our search.” 

“Some rain!” 

“A couple of you fellows watch that back cellar- 
door,” said John. “We’re going to look down there.” 

Leading the way, and followed by Jack and the 
others, he descended the cellar-stairs from the hall, 
holding his flash-light before him. He felt a chill 
run up and down his spine as he entered that gloomy 
place. But an intruder, had there been one, would 
have been up against it, opposed to these youths, 
each armed with flash-light and revolver. 

They made a thorough search, and not discover¬ 
ing anything, went upstairs again, where the two 
boys watching the back door reported that no one 
had made an exit that way. John and Jack re¬ 
moved their wet outer clothing* and wrapped up in 
blankets, while the others built up a hot fire with 
which to dry them. 

“We might as well all stay up now; it will be 
light pretty soon,” remarked Dick. “And we could 
never sleep through this storm.” 

“Four o’clock,” announced Bill Warner, after 
looking at this watch. 

“What did you fellows hear ?” asked Dick. 

The two adventurers grinned rather sheepishly. 


170 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“Ghosts! I guess the place is haunted after all,” 
admitted Jack, reluctantly. 

“What gets me,” said John, “is this: what ex¬ 
planation are we to make to the girls in the morn¬ 
ing ?” 

“None!” cried Jack. “They’d have the laugh on 
us! Don’t tell them anything. Tell ’em we never 
slept better in our lives!” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


171 


CHAPTER XIV. 

Marjorie's warning. 

After the boys’ report of their unfruitful night 
at the tea-house, Marjorie felt less desirous of mak¬ 
ing the experiment herself. When she had called 
up the newspapers and explained to them that she 
now considered herself in possession of conclusive 
proof against the existence of anything unusual at 
the tea-house, she found them singularly indifferent. 
The reporters had been only too ready to print the 
story Marie Louise had given them over the tele¬ 
phone —that made good copy—but Marjorie’s ac¬ 
count of the boys’ experience was too uninteresting 
and common-place to merit attention. She was dis¬ 
appointed to meet with such apathy; she felt that 
in failing to get the desired publicity, the boys’ ef¬ 
forts had been partially wasted. 

And yet their experiment had not been wholly in 
vain, for Marjorie somehow felt a subtle change 
of attitude among the more timid girls, and an in¬ 
crease of courage on Anna’s part. Everything was 
going better now, for Marie Louise had come back 


172 


THE GIEL SCOUTS’ 


and Mae Van Horn had come down to help during 
her vacation. Moreover, the girls who had already 
had vacations—Florence, Alice, and Marie Louise— 
seemed to work with redoubled energy. 

Ever since Anna’s strange experience, the tea¬ 
room had continued to thrive financially. Now, with 
half of their loan paid off, and a substantial balance 
in bank, the scouts faced a month of probable pros¬ 
perity. Marjorie felt satisfied and happy. 

She postponed her own adventure at the tea-house 
until after the first of August. Daisy was going on 
her vacation then, and Lily had consented to take 
one week; so Marjorie felt that it would be easier 
with the more nervous girls away. She wanted 
Ethel Todd as her sole partner. 

“Marj, I wish you would give up that wild scheme 
of yours,” begged Lily, as she said goodbye to her. 
“So many things may happen—leaving ghosts out 
of the question, I mean!” 

“Oh, we’ll take Jack’s revolver along,” said Mar¬ 
jorie. “You needn’t worry about Ethel and me— 
we can take care of ourselves.” 

“Well, be sure to write to me as soon as it is over! 
I can’t help being worried.” 

“All right,” agreed Marjorie, laughingly; “I will.” 

True to his promise, however, Marjorie’s brother 
Jack made no attempt to dissuade her from her pur¬ 
pose, and refrained from writing his parents any- 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


173 


thing about it. When the evening for the event ar¬ 
rived, he drove over with John Hadley in the Ford 
to take the girls down to the tea-house and to see 
that they were comfortably established for the night. 

Since Mrs. Hadley happened to be with them, and 
could act as chaperone, the girls invited the boys 
to come in for refreshments. While Marjorie was 
making some lemonade in the kitchen, John and 
Jack went all over the house, examining every cor¬ 
ner to make sure that there was no one in conceal¬ 
ment. In the dim candle-light the cellar appeared 
forbidding, but upon examination it proved to be as 
harmless as the rest of the house. 

“Any ghosts?” asked Marjorie, as they returned. 

“No—not a sign of one!” replied John. “You 
aren’t the least bit scared, are you, Marj ?” 

“Mercy no!” laughed the girl, lightly. “Jack, 
come crack some ice! And tell me, would you boys 
rather have sandwiches or fudge-layer cake?” 

“Both!” replied her brother immediately, as he 
searched for the ice-pick. 

When the refreshments were ready the little party 
adjourned to the porch to enjoy the delightful breeze 
that was blowing. Neither girl felt the leas* bit 
nervous about the approaching adventure, but as the 
minutes passed and everything grew quieter, Mrs. 
Hadley showed increasing concern. 

“Marjorie,” she said, as she listened to a near-by 


174 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


clock toll out eleven strokes, “won’t you please let 
us all stay all night here ? The boys wouldn’t mind 
finding a place on the floor down stairs, and we 
three could put the two cots together upstairs.” 

Marjorie smiled at the suggestion; there would 
be no possible reason for her remainjng there over 
night if she had the protection of the boys. 

“No, thanks, Mrs. Hadley—though it’s awfully 
kind of you to offer. But the boys had their chance, 
and didn’t discover anything—now Ethel and I want 
to see what we can do.” 

“Then let me stay!” urged the older woman, 
“Without the boys.” 

“Oh, no, really!” replied both girls at once. 

“It would be too uncomfortable,” added Ethel. 
“You know those army cots aren’t especially soft—” 

“And if we had to share them, we’d never get 
any sleep!” put in Marjorie. “Please, please, don’t 
worry! We’ll be all right.” 

Seeing that further argument would be of no 
avail, Mrs. Hadley finally decided to go away and 
let the girls carry out their wishes. But she did not 
look any too content as she said goodbye. 

Marjorie and Ethel bolted both doors on the in¬ 
side, and made their way upstairs, laden with two 
flash-lights, some pillows, and a revolver. Since 
there were no shades at the windows, thev did not 


VACATION ADVENTURES 175 

turn on the light, but crept into their cots after 
removing only their shoes. 

"My brother is the most sensible one of the 
bunch,” observed Marjorie, as she lay still, gazing 
through the window at the tree-tops. “I know John 
and Mrs. Hadley were about as nervous as Marie 
Louise.” 

“Yes,” returned Ethel; “and isn’t it all absurd?” 

“What do you honestly think did happen to Anna 
that night?” asked Marjorie. “Do you think she 
made the whole story up? 

“No, I don’t,” replied Ethel, with sincerity. “I 
think she actually dreamed the whole thing—and 
walked in her sleep, and got out of the house 
somehow.” 

“But how?” 

“That I don’t know. But I have read strange in¬ 
stances of people making discoveries in their sleep 
—things they could never find out when they were 
awake. So she may have found some hidden door, 
or loose window, or something like that.” 

“Well, I hope we don’t do anything queer tike 
that,” observed Marjorie, beginning to be influenced 
in spite of herself by the loneliness of the place. 
“You don’t walk in your sleep, do you Ethel?” 

“Gracious, no!” laughed the other girl. “And 
by the way, if either of us does get awake, let’s 


176 


THE GIRL SCOUTS* 


make a promise to wake the other. There’s no use 
lying here feeling lonely.” 

“Agreed!” replied Marjorie. 

Notwithstanding her courage, it took Marjorie 
longer to go to sleep than she had expected. Un¬ 
consciously, as she lay there, she listened to every 
noise; but as they all came from without, she was 
not in the least fearful. Her mind seemed to be 
unusually active, so she began to plan out some 
menus, and to reckon up their financial status at the 
present moment. There was no doubt about it, the 
outlook was good; unless something unforseen 
turned up to stop their business, the scouts would 
probably make enough money to support Mrs. 
Trawle and her baby in an economical manner all 
winter. 

She thought of other summers—pleasant, useful 
summers in which their time had not been wasted— 
but she realized that no vacation had ever been so 
filled with service as this one. And, in consequence, 
she knew that it was her happiest. 

Then her mind returned to John Hadley and his 
mother, and she recalled with gratitude how much 
they had done for her enterprise, how priceless their 
help had been. She began to dream of the associa¬ 
tions this summer would hold for her with this 
loyal young man, and from her dreams she drifted 
peacefully into sleep. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


177 


Neither girl awakened until just before dawn— 
when a faint light was beginning to come in through 
the windows, making the outline of the objects in 
the room just barely visible. Marjorie was slowly 
aroused out of her sleep by a mechanical, repeated 
knocking. She sat up in her cot, wondering what 
it could be. 

The sound seemed to come from below, and her 
first thought was that someone was trying to get in. 
It went on for another full minute; surely, she 
thought, Ethel must soon awaken. But her com¬ 
panion continued to sleep. 

Summoning all her courage, she got out of her 
cot, and stepped noiselessly to the window, unhooked 
the screen, and leaned out. All was very still out¬ 
side; not an automobile was passing, not a pedes¬ 
trian stirring. But to her amazement, she realized 
that the rapping, though still audible at intervals, 
was not nearly so plain now as it had been in the 
room. Wh!at was the significance? Her heart 
fluttered wildly as she thought of the only possible 
interpretation: the knocking must come from with¬ 
in! 

Thoroughly terrified now, she turned back into 
the room and wakened her sleeping companion. 
Ethel testified to the reality of the knocks—now 
coming only at stated intervals—but nevertheless 
still sounding. 


179 


THE GIKL SCOUTS’ 


“What can it be?” whispered Marjorie. 

“I don’t believe it spirt Tappings,” said Ethel, 
“but from what I’ve read of them, these knocks fit 
in remarkably well with their description.” 

“Oh, Ethel, it can’t be! Somebody must be play* 
ing a joke on us!” 

“Nobody would do that,” replied the older girl. 
“It’s too serious a matter!” 

“But what shall we do?” Marjorie was danger¬ 
ously near to tears. 

“Oh, we won’t do anything till it’s light,” said 
Ethel. “Then we’ll go home.” 

“But what can it be?” 

“I think it must be a rat gnawing something, or a 
cat—or even a bat. There, how’s that for a rhyme!” 

Marjorie laughed a little, and felt better for the 
joke. Then Ethel crawled over into the cot beside 
her, and, with their arms entwined about each other, 
they tried to go to sleep. But though tl\e rapping 
continued at less frequent intervals, it 1 was still 
audible, and neither girl was able to forget it. 

For half an hour they lay very still, watching the 
light grow more distinct, and rejoicing secretly at 
the approach of day. When it was bright enough 
for Ethel to see her watch, they resolved to get up. 
They had not heard a knock for the space of five 
minutes or so, and were beginning to make light 
of their fears when three sounded in succession. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


179 


“Oh!” whispered Marjorie, who was now at the 
top of the stairs, “I do believe it comes from the 
cellar!” 

“Yes, so do I!” agreed Ethel. “Got the re¬ 
volver ?” 

“Yes—shall—we go down?” 

“No,” said Ethel; “but we’re going to open the 
door and listen. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we 
heard a scurry of little feet.” 

“No doubt! No doubt!” muttered Marjorie. 

They descended the staircase and went to the 
front door and unbolted it. Everything without was 
peaceful and beautiful in the soft morning light,, 
and both girls breathed a sigh of relief. They were 
glad that the night was over. 

“Now for the cellar!” said Marjorie, turning back 
into the hall. “What do you say if I shoot my 
revolver down once?” 

“No! No!” objected Ethel. “It might frighten 
the neighbors.” 

“All right—unless I hear something,” said Mar¬ 
jorie. “Now—come on!” 

They stepped up to the cellar door and unfastened 
it, thrusting their heads cautiously into the black¬ 
ness. A moment later they heard the same rapping 
—distinct, menacing, ominous. Ethel grasped 
Marjorie’s hand in terror. 

“Marj !” she whispered. “Oh—” 


180 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


But a hollow, monotonous voice, like one from the 
spirit world, froze the sentence on her lips. 

“BEWARE OF THE SCOTT HOUSE AT 
NIGHT!” it warned. “IT IS HAUNTED!” 

Ethel grabbed again at Marjorie’s arm, as if to 
draw her forcefully away. But now Marjorie was 
the braver. 

“Take that!” she cried, firing three shots in suc¬ 
cession aimelssly into the cellar. “Whoever you 
are!” 

But to both girl’s astonishment, there was no re¬ 
ply. Turning about swiftly, they fled wildly 
through the hall, and out the door, never stopping 
until they had reached the gate. There they almost 
bumped into a car, stationed, with its engine run¬ 
ning, across the very entrance. 

‘Marj! Ethel!” cried two very familar voices, and 
the girls fairly dropped into the arms of Jack Wil¬ 
kinson and John Hadley, who had just descended 
from the latter’s Ford. 

“Tell us! Quick!” demanded John. “Are you 
hurt?” 

“Who was it ?” asked Jack. “Who shot ?” 

“I did,” replied Marjorie. “But I don’t know at 
whom. But—where were you?” 

“We slept here in the Ford all night after we took 
mother home,” John explained. “The shots 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


181 


awakened us—we were just across the road behind 
a tree—and so we pulled right over/' 

“Do you want us to go in to the house” asked 
Jack. 

“No!” replied Marjorie. “Take us home while we 
tell you the story. Then you can come back and 
search, if you like.” 

“Suppose John takes you home, and I go in with 
the revolver ?” suggested her brother. 

“No! No!” pleaded Ethel, very near to hysterics 
now. “Nobody must go in alone. And I want to 
get away! Oh, please—” 

“Certainly,” said John, sympathetically, as he 
helped the girls into the car. 

But when the boys returned, half an hour later, 
they found, just as they had expected, no traces of 
any living creature in the cellar, or in fact in any 
part of the house. 


182 


THE GIRL SCOUTS* 


CHAPTER XV. 

THE PICNIC SUPPER. 

When the boys drove Marjorie and Ethel into 
the yard of the Harris house, they found everything 
absolutely quiet. The doors were still locked, the 
occupants evidently still asleep. 

“Have you a key?” asked John of the girls. 

“No, not with us,” replied Ethel. “But we’re 
going to wake everybody up anyhow. They’ll 
surely want to hear what happened.” 

“Just wait till Marie Louise hears about it!” said 
Marjorie, now able to laugh at the incident. “My, 
but she’ll hold it over us!” 

“Do you intend to inform the police?” asked 
John. 

“No, I’d rather not,” answered Marjorie. “Be¬ 
cause they wouldn’t believe us any more than they 
did Anna.” 

They all got out of the car and Jack ran up the 
steps to ring the bell. In a minute or two Mrs. Mun- 
sen answered it—fully dressed. She was just about 


VACATION ADVENTURES 183 

to come downstairs to start her preparations for the 
day. 

“Jack Wilkinson!” she exclaimed, in apprehen¬ 
sion. Then, a moment later, she caught sight of 
Ethel and Marjorie and her fears vanished. 

“Will you take in two wanderers ?” asked Jack, 
with a smile. “We must go right back to the tea¬ 
house/ J 

As soon as Mrs. Munsen looked into the girls’ 
faces, she knew that they had been through an un¬ 
pleasant experience. Her motherly heart went out 
to them instantly, and she put her arms about their 
shoulders. 

“You’re neither of you hurt?” she asked, first of 
all. 

“No! No!” replied Marjorie, reassuringly. “But 
we have been frightened a little. 

“Come out in the kitchen while I make you some 
coffee,” she suggested; “and then you can tell me 
the whole story.” 

While Mrs. Munsen busied herself with the 
preparations for breakfast, Marjorie related the in¬ 
cidents of their adventure—the strange knocking, 
the voice of warning, and finally their own flight 
after she had fired three times into the cellar. She 
mentioned their surprise and relief in finding the 
boys waiting for them, and their joy at being home 
again. 


184 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


The older woman listened to the story with art 
increasing sense of alarm; now she was wholly con¬ 
vinced that the tea-house was overshadowed by some 
evil presence. She could not find words strong 
enough to express her opinions. 

“Girls, you must take this warning,” she said, 
her voice full of anxiety. “From now on, we must 
do nothing foolish. It is positively unsafe to tamper 
with matters like this.” 

Marjorie did not make any attempt to oppose 
her; in fact both girls were too perplexed and too 
exhausted to know what they really thought. They 
drank their coffee gratefully in silence. 

By the time the other scouts were downstairs 
and breakfast was ready, the boys returned from 
their trip to the tea-house, but without evidence. 
Mrs. Munsen asked them to remain for the meal— 
an invitation which they both instantly accepted. 

Ethel related the incidents over again for the 
benefit of those who had not heard them, and the 
girls listened in terrified amazement. It seemed 
all the more incredible because two such self- 
possessed girls as Ethel Todd and Marjorie Wilkin¬ 
son had been participants. 

“Now maybe you will believe Anna!” remarked 
Marie Louise, triumphantly. 

“Yes, I believe something happened to Anna, all 


VACATION ADVENTURES 185 

right!” assented Marjorie. “But I still don’t ac¬ 
knowledge that a spirit is the cause.” 

“Oh, Marjorie,” exclaimed Mrs. Munsen, in a 
pained tone. “How can you doubt so—with such 
facts as these before you?” 

“Well, the main question,” said Florence, “is— 
what are we going to do about it?” 

“Yes. Shall we close the tea-house?” asked 
Alice. 

“I should say not!” announced Marjorie, 
vehemently. “We’re going to stick it out till we 
solve this mystery!” 

“But if anybody really is afraid, I think she better 
go home,” put in Ethel. “It’s too serious a thing 
to force any girl to go through with—” 

“Oh, certainly!” Marjorie hastened to add. 

“Anyway,” remarked Alice, “whatever we decide 
to do later, there’s only one thing to do now—let 
Ethel and Marjorie get some rest. And that re¬ 
minds me, don’t forget our picnic today. We’ll go 
just the same, won’t we?” 

“Oh, certainly!” replied Ethel, immediately. 

The picnic, which had been arranged through 
the generosity of Agnes Taylor and a group of her 
friends who had offered to substitute for the girls, 
was to be held at an outlying pleasure park. All 
of the scouts who were not Philadelphians had 
been anxious to visit this renowned spot, but, on 


186 


THE GIRL SCOUTS 5 


account of the rush of business, had been unable to 
find a time. Marjorie happened to express her re¬ 
gret one day in Agnes’s presence, and the girl 
cheerfully offered to serve with her friends in the 
scouts’ places. 

Since both Marjorie and Ethel felt sure that 
nothing unusual would happen at the tea-house dur¬ 
ing the hours of daylight, they resolved to say 
nothing of their early morning adventure to the girls 
in charge. There seemed to be no reason to arouse 
their fears unnecessarily. 

After several hours’ good sleep, Marjorie and 
Ethel appeared at the luncheon table as bright and 
as fresh as if they had gone through no harrowing 
experinece. Both girls even insisted upon helping 
with the preparations for the picnic supper. 

“The boys still want to go,” remarked Alice, as 
she packed the waxed-paper sandwiches into a bas¬ 
ket. “John made one more plea as he left the house 
this afternoon.” 

Marjorie was amused at his persistence, but she 
showed no signs of relenting. 

“Nobody but Roger!” she said, firmly. “He has 
to come or Doris would pass away.” 

“That’s just what Jack and John denounced as 
unfair,” continued Alice. “They said if Roger could 
come, they could!” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


187 


“But Roger’s married. And besides, even he isn’t 
expected for supper.” 

“I’m putting in a little extra,” observed Mrs. 
Munsen, “in case he should turn up unexpectedly. 
You don’t want the poor boy to go hungry!” 

“Oh, Mrs. Munsen, you’re entirely too kind 
hearted!” said Marjorie. “Let the man go to a res¬ 
taurant for once; it wouldn’t hurt him!” 

“What’s all this I hear about my husfiand?” in¬ 
quired Doris, from the kitchen. “Don’t you dare 
abuse him!” 

“Nobody’s abusing him,” laughed Ethel. “Come 
on, girls, hurry! It’s after two, and if we don’t get 
to the park early, we won’t have time to try all 
the amusements before supper.” 

“And if we don’t try them before we eat. I’m 
sure we won’t want to afterwards,” remarked Alice. 

“And no matter which way we do it, we’ll all 
probably see Marj’s ghost tonight,” added Florence. 
“At least if we succeed in making away with all this 
food Mrs. Munsen is providing.” 

The preparations were finished at last, and the 
girls, each laden with a basket or a box of some 
sort, walked to the trolley-car which was to take 
them on their excursion. In vain John had offered 
his car, suggesting that they also make use of Lily’s, 
which was at their disposal during the latter’s ab¬ 
sence; but all the scouts announced their preference 


188 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


for the more plebian mode of travel. They felt as 
if they would enjoy the park better if they adopted 
the usual method in reaching it. 

They arrived shortly after three o’clock, and after 
selecting a big picnic table under the trees, and es¬ 
tablishing Mrs. Munsen there with a magazine and 
her knitting, and piling the packages around her, 
the merry party of seven went off to take in the 
amusements. Forgetting their years and their dig¬ 
nity as proprietresses of a business and sponsors of a 
baby, they entered as joyously into the fun as if they 
were children—singing on the airships and carous- 
sels, screaming at the breath-taking descents of the 
scenic railways. They made the rounds thoroughly, 
spending money extravagantly, in order not to miss 
a single sensation. At last, when it was nearly six 
o’clock, they returned tired but happy to Mrs. Mun- 
sen’s table. 

“Well, you look as if you had a good time!” she 
said, smiling at their flushed faces. “It does me 
good to see you drop your worries for a while.” 

“We did have a good time!” announced Marjorie. 
“We didn’t miss a single thing!” 

“And here you have supper all ready, too!” re¬ 
marked Ethel. “Really, Mrs. Munsen, that is too 
much! Why didn’t you wait ?” 

“Oh, my dear, there was nothing much to do. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


189 


I enjoyed it. And we’re going to have coffee, too! 
I made arrangements for that!” 

“Wonderful!” exclaimed Alice. “I move we start 
right in now—immediately. I’m as hungry as a 
bear!” 

For twenty minutes or so they were so occupied 
with the business of serving themselves and each 
other, and eating the * delicious food they had 
brought, that there was no concerted effort at con¬ 
versation. At last, when their hunger showed signs 
of being satisfied, they began to go into detail about 
the afternoon’s amusement. 

It was Doris who first mentioned the boys, re¬ 
gretting the fact that they were not there to enjoy 
the supper. 

“It certainly is a pity/’ she said, “to think of their 
eating in restaurants and boarding-houses with all 
this marvellous food going to waste. For we can 
never eat it all!” 

“Yes, I have to admit that Marjorie was hard¬ 
hearted,” said Mrs. Munsen. 

“Oh, the food won’t be wasted!” replied Mar¬ 
jorie, undisturbed by the accusation. “I mean to 
take it home with me. We can feed it to the girls 
at the tea-house.” 

“It’s possible,” observed Doris slowly, keeping her 
eyes fixed on a distant point near the entrance of the 
park, “that you may not have to take it home.” 


190 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


Suddenly she jumped up and waved her arms in 
ecstacy. 

“Doris, are you having a fit?” asked Ethel, 
watching her motions in perplexity. 

“I presume,” said Marjorie, “that the young 
lady's husband is coming.” 

“He is! He is!” cried the happy bride. “And 
it’s only twenty-five after six—so I guess he didn’t 
wait to get his supper.” 

Marjorie uttered a groan of mock distress. 

“I thought we couldn’t run away—” she began; 
but Mrs. Munsen hastened to interrupt her by as¬ 
suring Doris that there was still plenty to eat. 

“But I do believe he has two men with him,” 
continued Doris, who had not been listening to the 
remarks which had just been made for her bene¬ 
fit. “It must be—yes—it is—Jack Wilkinson and 
John Hadley! 

“Well, of all the nerve!” cried Marjorie. “That 
beats everything! I wonder who they think invited 
them!” 

“Roger probably,” answered Doris, meekly. 

Marjorie relented a little at the other girl’s 
penitence, for she seemed to consider herself to 
blame. It was impossible to be angry with Doris for 
any length of time. 

The boys let out a joyous war-whoop as soon as 
they caught sight of the girls, and Roger, reaching 


VACATION ADVENTURES 191 

the group first, boldly kissed his blushing bride in 
front of them all. 

“It seems as if it is impossible to get away from 
some people!” remarked Marjorie, with a signifi¬ 
cant glance at her brother and John Hadley. 

“Oh, we intended to come, all along,” remarked 
Jack, calmly. “Hope you have plenty for us to eat!” 
He sat down between Marie Louise and Ethel. 

“Yes, indeed, plenty!” said Mrs. Munsen, cordial¬ 
ly. “The girls have stopped already, and there is 
lots of salad, and sandwiches, besides two big cakes 
and some fruit for dessert.” 

“It's a good thing!” observed Jack, helping him¬ 
self liberally to chicken salad, “for Dick Roberts 
said he might drop over, and bring Warner and Elli¬ 
son. So you see, Sis, you might as well have in¬ 
vited us anyhow.” 

Marjorie laughed good-naturedly, and gave up 
trying to squelch her irrepressible brother. 

When, a few minutes later, not only Dick and Bill 
Warner and Pierce Ellison, but also Eugene Scho¬ 
field arrived and announced that they too had come 
for supper, the party was complete. Marjorie ad¬ 
mitted herself entirely outwitted, and Mrs. Munsen 
beamed with joy at seeing her good food so well 
appreciated. 

“But you boys are too late for the amusements,” 
said Ethel. “We did them all this afternoon.” 


192 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“Not too late for dancing, though, are we?” asked 
Pierce. 

Mrs. Munsen wrinkled her forehead in doubt. 

“I don’t know,” she replied, in uncertainty; “it 
may be all right—and it may not. But so long as 
this is a public park, let’s stay on the safe side, and 
dance when you get home.” 

“Agreed!” cried Marjorie, cheerfully. “We’ll 
go listen to the first concert in the music pavilion, 
and then make an early departure.” 

During all this merry, care-free time, there had 
been no reference to the girls’ early morning ex¬ 
perience; indeed, it seemed almost as if the incident 
had been forgotten. But on their way to the 
pavilion, Jack and John joined Marjorie and Ethel, 
and instantly the subject was brought up again. 

“You still don’t think it was a ghost?” asked John 
of Marjorie. 

“No, I don’t! If it was, why did Anna and Ethel 
and I hear the voice—and not you boys or the 
policemen ?” 

“Of course that’s true,” admitted John. “Though 
they do say women and girls are more sensitive, 
and therefore more susceptible to spiritual in¬ 
fluences—” 

“Nonsense!” cried Marjorie. “It’s somebody— 
some person who wants to scare us girls! And I 
mean to sift the thing to the bottom!” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


193 


“But how?” asked Jack, a little alarmed at his 
sister’s daring. 

“I’m not sure,” replied Marjorie. “But I think 
I have a plan—” 

“And Marj’s plans always work!” exclaimed 
Ethel, admiringly. 

“And—your plan—involves just girls?” asked 
John, in a disappointed tone. 

“My plan,” announced Marjorie, “involves at 
least three people—and maybe more—myself, and 
my brother, and another boy!” 

“Bravo!” cried Jack, grasping Marjorie’s shoul¬ 
der in approval. “I’m with you to the end, Sis!” 

“And so am I!” added John, quietly. 


194 


THE GIRL SCOUTS* 


'S 


CHAPTER XVI. 

ANOTHER DISAPPEARANCE. 

It was not until the following day, when Mar¬ 
jorie faced a free morning, that she had an oppor¬ 
tunity to go over the events of the previous day and 
weigh their significance. Then, with the excitement 
of the picnic behind her, she was able to think 
calmly. 

The more she thought of the strange voice she 
and Ethel had heard in the cellar, the more anxious 
she was to learn its source. Now she felt angry 
with herself for running away; she wished that she 
had accepted the boys* offer to return immediately 
and explore the cellar. It had been ridiculous to 
allow such an opportunity to pass. 

She took her fancy-work and went down on the 
porch, hoping that Ethel, who was also free that 
morning, would join her. She longed to talk the 
matter over with her, and to tell her of the plan 
she was formulating. 

She did not have to wait long, for in a few 
minutes Ethel appeared, with two or three maga- 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


195 


zines. But Marjorie had no intention of allowing 
her to read. 

“I'm so glad you came out,” said Marjorie. 
“For I’ve been dying to talk the whole thing over 
without the other girls. And of course last night 
we were too tired—” 

“Yes, I didn’t even give it a thought after I 
got into bed, I was so sleepy,” said Ethel. “But 
I certainly have been trying to figure it out this 
morning. I positively can’t make head or tail of 
it.” 

“Neither can I. And yet we didn’t dream it—we 
certainly wouldn’t both dream it—” 

“Don’t you think it could possibly have been a 
spirit?” asked Ethel. 

“No, I don’t. I think somebody wants to get us 
cut of that house—though for what reason under 
the sun, I can’t imagine—and is using this method 
to frighten us. Because, otherwise, why should 
only we girls experience it, and never the men?” 

“You don’t think the boys could have heard 
something of the kind and refrained from telling us 
for fear of scaring us ?” 

“If they had, Ethel,” replied Marjorie, con¬ 
vincingly, “Jack and John never would have con¬ 
sented to letting you and me stay alone in the house 
all night—even with their watching as close as they 
were. No, I know them both too well for that!” 


196 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“I guess you're right,” admitted Ethel. “Well, 
Marj, what are we going to do about it—just ignore 
it all? We have nearly a month yet—” 

“No, I really mean to do something, as I said last 
night to the boys, to get to the bottom of it. I 
have a plan—rather vague, I’ll admit—but still, it's 
a plan.” 

“Tell me about it!” urged her companion. 

“Well, it's based on this idea: whoever they are 
that want to frighten us away, they plan their at¬ 
tacks for only the times when we girls are alone in 
the house. Evidently, then, there is no hope of using 
the boys to help catch them. Neither do I think there 
is any chance of our doing anything, against men; 
we’d only get into trouble. So our one salvation 
lies in getting two or three of the boys to disguise 
themselves as girls, and go after them.” 

“Splendid!” cried Ethel, approvingly. “But 
wouldn’t they recognize their voices?” 

“Yes, if it is necesasry to do any talking. I 
thought we might work out some such scheme as 
this—have Jack, disguised as a girl, and me sleep 
all night at the house; and have John and maybe one 
or two of the others,—either hidden or disguised— 
Outside. I really haven’t worked out the details of 
the plot a bit, because I thought Jack and John 
could do much better than I could.” 

“It’s wonderful!” cried Ethel, in growing admira- 


VACATION ADVENTUKES ~ 197 

tion. “I'm sort of jealous of you, though—being 
the only girl—” 

“Fd include you, Ethel, if I thought it were wise. 
But it seems to me we better not have too many, 
and of course it would be best for me because Jack 
is my brother. But we won't decide anything 
definitely until I talk it over with Jack and John at 
the tea-house this evening." 

The girls continued to discuss the subject until 
Marie Louise and Florence came up on the porch, 
and then they dropped it for discretion's sake. The 
whole effectiveness of the plan would be lost if the 
disguise were to be common knowledge. 

At luncheon the scouts all asked Marjorie what 
she intended to do in regard to the warning she 
had received. 

“I don't know yet," she replied, truthfully. “I 
want to talk it over with the boys and make some 
arrangements for staying again all night at the tea¬ 
house." 

“No! No! Marjorie!" cried Marie Louise, aghast 
at the idea. “Oh, please take the warning seriously, 
and stay away from there at night!" 

Marjorie smilingly shook her head. 

“No, Marie Louise; it's our duty as truth-loving 
Girl Scouts to get to the bottom of this thing. But 
I won't be foolish—Fm going to proceed very care¬ 
fully." 


198 


THE GIEL SCOUTS’ 


“Well, in the meanwhile, I hope nothing dread¬ 
ful happens,” she observed. 

“How are we working today?” asked Ethel, 
abruptly. “I’ve had so many other things to think 
about that I’ve almost forgotten there is such a 
thing as work.” 

“Everybody’s on all afternoon,” replied Marie 
Louise. “But Alice and I go off at four o’clock 
because we worked this morning. And you and 
Marjorie are supposed to stay latest, and close the 
house.” 

“Suits me!” announced Marjorie. “Jack and 
John will surely be down this evening, and it will 
give us a chance to talk things over.” 

The business at the tea-house was as gratifying 
as ever that afternoon; perhaps because it was par¬ 
ticularly warm and sultry, a larger number of 
patrons than usual came in to enjoy the ice-cream 
and the ice-tea, and to rest beneath the electric fans; 
for as soon as the money had begun to pour in with 
greater rapidity, Marjorie had installed them in the 
tea-room and in the rest-room. The girls themselves 
were so busy and so happy in their service chat they 
did not notice the heat. Indeed, it was only after 
Marie Louise and Alice made their departure that 
they began to feel fatigued. 

About six o’clock the rush seemed to be over, and 
Marjorie insisted that all except Ethel and herself 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


199 


go home for supper. Then, in the lull that followed, 
they found something to eat, and waited impatiently 
for the coming of the boys. When they finally ar¬ 
rived, Marjorie lost no time in putting her new plan 
up to them. 

“But let's wait several days," she concluded, 
“while you people figure it out to the best advantage. 
iWe want to lay a regular Sherlock Holmes trap, 
and catch the enemy without any slips. So—think 
as hard as you can.” 

“We certainly will!” cried both boys, in excite¬ 
ment. 

They fell so heartily into Marjorie's proposition, 
and seemed so confident of success, that for the first 
time since the opening of the tea-house, the girls 
really felt as if most of the obstacles were behind 
her. She was naturally disgruntled therefore to be 
greeted, upon reaching home, with the news of a 
fresh disaster. 

“Marie Louise and Alice have disappeared!” an¬ 
nounced Florence, almost before the girls were out 
of John's car. 

“What?” cried Marjorie, standing perfectly still 
on the step of the Ford. “What did you say ?” 

“Marie Louise and Alice have not been seen since 
this afternoon!” repeated Florence. “And what is 
more—the last person who saw them was Anna— 


200 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


and she thinks they went down the cellar of the tea¬ 
house!” 

“Oh, no! No!” protested Marjorie. “Oh, not 
that!’ 

“Well, she really isn’t a bit sure,” said Mae Van 
Horn. “But it was rush hour, you know, and she 
says the girls were going off duty and came back to 
the kitchen for something to eat. You know we 
just got in that barrel of apples—the first of the 
season—and Marie Louise said they each wanted 
one. And Anna told them the barrel was down the 
cellar.” 

“And they went down?” asked Marjorie, in¬ 
credulously. “You can’t make me believe that 
Marie Louise braved the terrors of that cellar just 
for the sake of an apple!” 

“Well, I don’t know,” said Mae. “Anna didn’t 
see whether they went or not. Anyway, they ex¬ 
pected to be back for supper—and they’re not here 
yet—and it’s almost eight o’clock!” 

“John,” said Marjorie, descending from the step 
of the car and taking the tea-house key from her 
pocket, “you and Jack go back and search that cellar. 
And I’ll go call up Doris and all Marie Louise’s 
other friends I can think of.” 

In fifteen minutes Marjorie came out to the porch 
again and reported no success. 

“Of course not!” said Mrs. Munsen, who was 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


201 


even more anxious than any of the girls. “Marie 
Louise is always thoughtful about telephoning 
when she expects to miss a meal. ,, 

“She may be at the tea-house,” observed Ethel. 

“Oh, I hope not!” sighed Mrs. Munsen. “Then 
surely something dreadful would have happened to 
them!” 

But in a few minutes the boys also returned to 
tell of their failure. They had searched the tea¬ 
house carefully, from top to bottom, without any 
results. 

“Did you get a warning from the spirit world?” 
asked Florence, half mockingly. 

“No; the house was as silent as a tomb,” replied 
John. 

“The poor ghosts have to sleep sometime!” re¬ 
marked Mae, lightly. 

“Girls!” reproved Mrs. Munsen; “this is serious 
—it’s no time for joking! We must do something 
to find Marie Louise and Alice.” 

“But what?” asked Marjorie. “Go to the police 
again?” 

“Oh, they’re no good!” said Jack, contemptu¬ 
ously. “We’d better hunt the girls ourselves.” 

“I honestly think they’ll show up soon,” declared 
Ethel. “Maybe they went for a walk, and got 
lost— 


202 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


‘‘But Marie Louise is a Philadelphian," protested 
Florence. 

The sharp, insistent ring of the telephone inter¬ 
rupted the conversation, and Marjorie hurried off to 
answer it. In a moment she was back again. 

'They're safe—and all right!" she announced, 
joyously. 'They're waiting for a taxi, and will be 
hers in about twenty minutes." 

"But where are they, and where have they been ?" 
demanded Mrs. Munsen. 

"Somewhere in town—I couldn’t understand just 
where. They were unavoidably detained; they said 
they’d explain when they get here." 

The girls put in the next twenty minutes of wait¬ 
ing in discussing Alice’s and Marie Louise’s possible 
reason for being away. At last they all agreed that 
the ghost at the haunted house could have no pos¬ 
sible connection with this adventure, and generally 
agreed that the girls must have gone to a show. 
Nevertheless, when Alice and Marie Louise actually 
reached the porch steps, this was the first question 
they were greeted with: 

"Did the ghost kidnap you girls?" It was Mae 
who asked it. 

"No," answered Marie Louise, dropping into a 
chair, and removing her hat; "no, the ghost didn’t 
get after us—we went after the ghost!" 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


203 


“What do you mean?” cried two or three of the 
girls at once. 

“Tell us the whole story!” urged Florence. 

“Well,” began Marie Louise, “after Marj talked 
at lunch time about spending another night at the 
tea-house in spite of that warning which she and 
Ethel received, I began to be worried. I thought 
we ought to know whether there was anything to 
it—if the spirits really were opposed to our using 
the house. So I decided to find out.” 

“To find out!” repeated Marjorie in surprise. 
“But how did you experiment?” 

“No, not experiment!” corrected Marie Louise. 
“We went straight to the proper source for informa¬ 
tion. Alice and I consulted a medium!” 

“So that is what you were doing in town!” re¬ 
marked Mrs. Munsen. Then, her mind suddenly 
switching from the mental to the physical. “And 
haven’t you had any supper?” 

“We had ice-cream while we were waiting for 
the taxi,” replied Alice. 

“You poor dears!” cried the older woman, rising. 
“I’ll hear the rest later, and go fix your something 
to eat.” 

As soon as she was gone, Marie Louise went on 
with her story. 

“I had the name of a medium a friend of mine 
went to see in the city,” she said; “so as soon as 


204 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


I knew we would be off at four o’clock, I persuaded 
Alice to go with me.” 

“I really was crazy to go,” put in her companion. 

“Naturally!” remarked Florence. 

“Well,” continued the narrator, “we didn’t have 
any trouble getting there, but we found we had to 
wait. There were several other clients before us 
in her office.” 

“What sort of woman was she?” asked Marjorie. 

“Oh, quite ordinary,” replied Marie Louise. 
“Thin and scrawny—” 

“And a little dirty,” added Alice. 

“Did she use cards, or those other devices fortune¬ 
tellers have?” asked Ethel. 

“No, she looked at us steadily for about five 
minutes—it wasn’t dark in the room—and then be¬ 
gan to ask questions and tell us things.” 

“How much of the story did you tell her?” in¬ 
quired Marjorie. 

“Practically everything. Then she went off in a 
trance for about five minutes.” 

“Yes—yes?” The interest was intense now. 

“Finally she opened her eyes and said it is the 
spirt of the young man’s mother that is haunting the 
house. She—or it—can’t bear to have any young 
people around except him.” 

“Then what are we to do ?’ asked Mae, breathless- 

iy- 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


205 


“She said she thought it might be safe to go on 
with the tea-house, as that is strictly for charity, 
but that under no condition should we have parties 
or entertain in any way, or stay all night in the 
house.” 

“That’s all rubbish!” cried Marjorie, jumping up 
impatiently. “She just made that up! Anyone of 
us could have told you as much—” 

“And what did she charge you for this precious 
bit of information?” asked Ethel, cynically. 

Marie Louise did not answer, but suddenly be¬ 
gan to sob hysterically. 

“You girls are mean!” cried Alice. “After all 
our trouble—” 

“Oh, Marie Louise!” said Marjorie, instantly 
apologetic; “I’m so sorry if I hurt your feelings! 
I honestly didn’t mean to—” 

“Neither did I!” added Ethel. “Do forgive us!” 

“Your supper’s ready, girls!” interrupted a kindly 
voice from the doorway, and the whole party ad¬ 
journed to the dining-room. 

This little adventure did not have the slighest in¬ 
fluence upon Marjorie; she continued to go on with 
her arrangements for spending another night at the 
tea-house. 


206 


THE GIRL SCOUTS* 


CHAPTER XVII. 
lily's welcome. 

It was the end of the first week in August. Mar¬ 
jorie had just returned from taking Mae Van Horn 
to the station in Lily’s car, and now she was waiting 
for the time to arrive when she might go to meet 
Lily herself. She was, as usual, happy over the 
prospect of seeing her chum again. 

“I’ve never seen you so excited over seeing John 
Hadley as you are over meeting Lily,” remarked 
Ethel, who was sitting on the porch with Marjorie 
“I wish you showed as much love for me!” 

“Why, Ethel—” began her room-mate, reproach¬ 
fully. 

The other girl laughed good naturedly. 

“But you seem anxious to get rid of me—to 
make me take a vacation—” 

“That’s because I think you need it!” 

“But you need one yourself!” 

“You know I can’t go, Ethel, till I help the boys 
clear up this mystery.” 

“Sometimes” remarked her companion, “I think 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


207 


it would be just as wise not to bother. We have 
only three weeks more—we’re out of debt now— 
and everything we make is clear profit. Why not let 
well enough alone?” 

“Oh, Ethel, I couldn’t do it! My curiosity has 
the best of me. Besides, I have a new scheme up 
my sleeve!” 

“A new scheme? What?” demanded Ethel. It 
seemed as if Marjorie’s brain were never idle. 

“Why, we have done so well this summer in es¬ 
tablishing a business, that I think we could ‘sell 
out.’ We have proved that the thing pays, so per¬ 
haps some ambitious woman might buy our trade 
and our equipment, if we advertise.” 

“Good gracious, Marj! That’s a splendid idea! 
It ought to net us quite a comfortable little sum!” 

“That’s what I think. But don’t you see that it 
would be wrong—almost dishonest—to sell a busi¬ 
ness with such a shadow hanging over it ? Suppose 
something dreadful were to happen—wouldn’t you 
feel responsible?” 

“Yes, I suppose I would,” Ethel admitted. 

“So you see how necessary it is for us to clear 
the name,” explained Marjorie. “And therefore I 
can’t very well take a vacation. But you must— 
for a week, at least!” 

“Well, then, I will. Come on—isn’t it time to 
go to meet Lily?” 


208 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“I guess it is,” replied Marjorie, consulting her 
watch. 

The girls reached the station just as the train 
pulled in. Marjorie was thankful to see it on time; 
she hated waiting, particularly when she had so 
much to tell Lily. 

“Aren’t you crazy to drive your car again ?” asked 
Marjorie, when the three girls were in the roadster, 
with the former still at the wheel. 

“Yes, but you may drive,” replied Lily. “Pro¬ 
vided you don’t get arrested.” 

“I’ll try not to,” laughed Marjorie. “Now—tell 
us all the news!” 

“No, you tell me first! “I’m terribly excited 
about the ghost at the tea-house. Of course I got 
your letter, describing your night there. Has any¬ 
thing happened since?” 

“No, we haven’t done anything. But we are 
laying the plot for Saturday night.” 

“Oh, Marj, you aren’t going to stay there again 
—all night!” gasped Lily, with a shudder at the 
very idea of the thing. 

“Yes, lam, too!” 

“And are you, too, Ethel ?” 

“No; I’ve just promised Marj to take a week’s 
holiday, so I’ll miss out this time.” 

“Then who is going to stay there with you ?” de¬ 
manded Lily. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


209 


A naughty twinkle came into Marjorie’s eyes. 

“I am counting on you, Lily!” 

“Oh, no, Marj! Oh, I just couldn’t! I wouldn’t 
be one bit of use! I—” 

“You’re very brave, Lily!” teased her chum. 

“Well, I will if you want me to!” she sighed, 
meekly. 

“No, Lil dear, I don’t want you to,” Marjorie re¬ 
assured her. “In fact, I don’t want any girl to! 
I’m going to make use of my brother—and perhaps 
some of the other boys. But don’t say a word, 
about that part of the scheme. It’s a dead secret.” 

“All right,” agreed Lily. “I really do feel re¬ 
lieved, though.” 

They talked of other things for a while—Lily’s 
trip; her vist to Mrs. Trawle, whose health was still 
improving; the picnic; and the outlook for the tea¬ 
house. Lily said that her father felt immensely proud 
of the scouts for being able to repay that loan so 
quickly. 

“He said you were such a capable little business 
woman, Marj, that it would be pity for you to get 
married,” she added. 

“I’m not thinking of getting married,” replied 
Marjorie. “In fact, the only time I do think of it 
is when you mention it.” 

“No, Marj has stuck pretty closely to business 
this summer, I will say that for her,” remarked 


210 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


Ethel. “Of course she sees John every day or so, 
but it’s all very matter-of-fact.” 

When the girls reached home, Lily found a cordial 
reception awaiting her. Mrs. Munsen and Mrs. 
Hadley had offered to go down to the tea-house dur¬ 
ing the supper hour so that the scouts might have 
the meal together. 

“Lily,” said Alice, after they were seated at the 
table, “I know you like parties, so, if you and Marj 
are willing, I want to arrange one for Friday night.” 

“Yes, I love parties,” replied Lily, enthusiastically. 
She was thinking of the house-warming in the be¬ 
ginning of the summer, and of the picnic supper 
she had just missed. 

“Well, this one would be a little out of the or¬ 
dinary, but everybody likes the idea—except Marie 
Louise. And I think we can win her over!” 

“Oh, we can’t possibly have a party that Marie 
Louise doesn’t approve of,” objected Marjorie. 
“Why, this is her house—” 

“But it isn’t to be held here,” said Alice. “We 
thought of using the tea-house!” 

“Yes! Yes!” cried Marjorie, her eyes sparkling 
with delight at the prospect of something adven¬ 
turous. 

“Not after that warning!” protested Lily in¬ 
horror. 

“I guess if Marj can plan to spend another night 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


211 


there—practically alone,” said Alice, “we could af¬ 
ford to take a chance in a crowd. Besides we 
might make some discoveries.” 

“Tell us your idea, Alice!” urged Marjorie. 

“Well, I’d like for us all to go down to the tea¬ 
house after supper Friday night—with Mrs. Hadley 
and Mrs. Munsen, but not any of the boys—and in¬ 
vite that medium that Marie Louise and I consulted, 
and try some table-moving and spirt-rapping stuff. 
She ought to be able to tell whether it is all a 
fake. And then, if nothing happens, we can end 
up just like an ordinary party, with ice-cream and 
cake.” 

“What fun!” cried Florence, in delight. “I think 
that’s a great idea, Alice.” 

“But can you get the medium?” asked Ethel. 

“Yes, I’m sure we can, if we pay her enough. 
And we can all put together.—What do you say 
Marj ?” 

“I’m game!” replied the latter, instantly. 

Accordingly, Alice went ahead with her arrange¬ 
ments as soon as she was able to win Marie Louise 
and Mrs. Munsen to agreement. She was sorry to 
have Ethel miss the party by leaving the day be¬ 
fore for her vacation, but fortunately Daisy 
Gravers arrived to take her place. The time was 
set for half-past eight on Friday evening. 

The girls managed to close the tea-room rather 


212 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


early that night, but encountered severe opposition in 
attempting to chase the boys away. 

“Please let us stay—if we have to hide some¬ 
where!” begged Jack. 

“No,” replied Marjorie, firmly. “And don’t 
think that because you won out at the picnic supper 
that you will again. I’m not going to relent.” 

“But if nobody knew that we were there”— 
pleaded Jack. 

“No! Your turn’s coming tomorrow night! 
Be satisfied with that!” 

“Do you want my revolver, then, Sis?” asked 
Jack, giving up in despair. 

“Yes, I would like to have it,” replied Marjorie. 
“Because if we hear anything from the cellar, I’m 
going to lead a party down to investigate.” 

“Do be careful, Marjorie!” warned John. 

“And don’t solve the whole mystery, so that 
there’s nothing left for us fellows to do tomorrow 
night,” added Jack. 

“Don’t worry!” laughed his sister. 

The rest of the girls arrived at the tea-house 
about eight o’clock, and the medium came soon 
after. One of the larger tea-tables had been moved 
into the rest-room for the use of the party and the 
young people gathered about it. 

“Must we turn the lights down low?” asked 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


213 


Marjorie, respectfully, as if she had full faith in the 
proceeding. 

The medium shook her head. 

“Not necessarily,” she replied. “It is more im¬ 
portant that everyone be in sympathy.” 

The girls laid their hands upon the table as the 
woman directed, their finger-tips barely resting on 
its surface. They sat perfectly quiet for nearly 
ten minutes; no one broke the spell by so much as a 
smile. Then the medium passed one hand lightly 
across her forehead, saying: 

“I am getting in touch with the spirit world. 
When the table begins to move, you may ask ques¬ 
tions. The table’s moving up and down three times 
will signify ‘yes’; once, 'no.’ Do not ask your 
questions too quickly after the table first moves; 
give me time to establish perfect communication.” 

Marjorie, who sat across the table from the me¬ 
dium, kept her gaze fixed intently upon the wo¬ 
man’s face. She, for one, was not in sympathy 
with her, and was watching closely for some evi¬ 
dence of quackery. 

For some moments more they waited patiently. 
At last they were rewarded by a faint rocking of 
the table. The motion was repeated several times, 
and then Marjorie spoke. 

“Are we wrong to be here tonight?” she asked. 

Before there was any answering movement from 


214 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


the table, the sound of three distinct knocks was 
heard. Instantly the girls became alert, tense, ap¬ 
prehensive; and Marjorie, whose gaze had never 
left the medium’s face, saw her start violently and 
open her eyes for an instant. 

“One knock for ‘No/ three for ‘yes’ announced 
the medium, in a solemn tone. 

Marjorie continued the questioning. She was 
anxious to find out whence the sound was coming. 
From all indications, she believed its source to be 
the cellar. 

“Will it be dangerous for the girls to sleep here 
tomorrow night?” 

Again, to their terrified ears, came three distinct 
rappings. More than one of the scouts gasped in 
fear, and Marie Louise began to sob quietly. 

“Is this house haunted?” 

Knock! Knock! Knock! 

Two or three other questions, whose answers 
threw the girls into greater terror, only made Mar¬ 
jorie more suspicious, more eager to investigate the 
whole matter. The medium shivered slightly, 
looked about her in a dazed fashion, and leaned 
limply back in her chair. 

In the lull that followed an idea occurred to Mar¬ 
jorie, and she startled the others by the matter-of- 
fact tone in which she made a request. But in mak¬ 
ing it, she knew that her request was a reasonable 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


215 


one; for she had read and heard a great deal of the 
professed power of mediums, and thought that, if 
this one were not a fake, she should consent to it.” 

“Would you be kind enough,” she asked, address¬ 
ing the medium, “to let me write the questions, 
instead of asking them out loud?” 

The woman hesitated a moment. 

“It is a very unusual demand,” she replied, “but 
I will try it, if you wish. What is it you want to 
ask?” 

Marjorie produced a pencil and a piece of paper 
from her pocket, wrote something, folded the paper 
several times with the writing inside, and placed it 
upon the center of the table. 

“Of course,” continued the girl, “it will not be 
necessary for you to look at what I have written, 
since the spirit with whom you communicate will 
know what it says.” 

Several of the girls gasped at her audacity. 

Again the medium hesitated. 

“Very well,” she replied; and closed her eyes. 

They waited while communication was being re¬ 
established, listening intently for an answer. This 
time, however, instead of the distinct knocks from 
the direction of the cellar, it was the table which 
rocked three times, denoting the affirmative. 

Marjorie's face wore a look of triumph. She 


216 


THE GIKL SCOUTS’ 


reached forward hastily, picked up the question she 
had written, and thrust it into her pocket. 

The medium opened her eyes suddenly, and 
pushed back her chair. 

“That is all I can do tonight,” she said, rising. 
“But I hope I have answered your questions satisfac¬ 
torily,” she added, darting a look at Marjorie. 

No sooner was she gone than Marjorie jumped 
to her feet in wildest excitement. 

“She's a fake, girls, of course” she cried. “But 
those other knocks—not the table-tippings—are 
from an entirely different source, I’m sure, oh, I’m 
positive, there was somebody down the cellar listen¬ 
ing and answering the questions. The woman was 
surprised herself. Didn't you notice the difference 
in the reply when I wrote the question? Come on! 
Everybody! Come on down!” 

“Oh, no!” pleaded Mrs. Munsen. “Don’t take a 
chance, Marjorie!” 

“Yes! Yes! I must! Who's coming?” 

She rushed madly to the cellar door, with Lily at 
her heels; and Florence, Alice and Daisy followed. 
A moment later she opened the door and turned 
her flash-light into the darkness. 

The cellar was absolutely empty! 

“There! Listen! What's that noise?—that rattle?” 
she demanded, as they descended the steps. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


217 


“The spirit saying farewell/’ suggested Alice, half 
in earnest. 

But Marjorie stored the impression away in her 
brain, deciding to account for it later. 

Bravely, but with the revolver in full evidence, 
they searched every corner of the cellar, and, find¬ 
ing nothing, returned to the rest-room where re¬ 
freshments were hastily being served. The whole 
party seemed anxious to get away. 

“You surely won’t go on with your plan for to¬ 
morrow night?” asked Mrs. Munsen of Marjorie. 

“I surely will!” replied the girl, determinedly. 
“And I think I am going to find out something!” 

She had come to the conclusion that the rattle 
she had heard as she entered the cellarway was the 
result of the closing of the outside cellar door— 
and the agency a human hand! 

“And the question you asked—the one you wrote 
on the paper ?” inquired Lily. “What was it ?” 

Marjorie smilingly drew the paper from her 
pocket, and, unfolding it, handed it to the other. 

“Don’t forget the table answered it as ‘y es >’ " she 
reminded her. 

Lily gazed at it in amazement, and read out loud: 

“Are you trying to fake us?” 


218 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

A GHOST IN THE FLESH. 

After the excitement of the previous night, Mar¬ 
jorie found it exceedingly difficult to keep her atten¬ 
tion upon the routine duties of the tea-room. The 
day seemed endless; but the promise of the coming 
adventure buoyed up her spirits and kept her from 
becoming too impatient. 

At last, however, the guests had all left the tea¬ 
house and the place was deserted; Eugene Schofield 
and Pierce Ellison closed and locked the doors and 
the girls went home. There were only two hours 
to wait now until Marjorie should return to spend 
the night at the haunted spot. She resolved, if pos¬ 
sible, to pass them in sleep. 

Shortly after ten o’clock, she was awakened by a 
knocking at her door. 

“Come in!” she called; and Daisy entered the 
room. 

“The boys are here!” she announced. “Wake up, 
Marj!” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 219 

Marjorie sat up and rubbed the sleep from her 
eyes. 

“Don't say boys" she cautioned. “I've got to 
accustom my mind to the fact that they are girls— 
for tonight.” 

“But John is dressed as a boy!” laughed Daisy. 

“Oh, of course he is! I forgot! But how about 
Jack?” 

“He’s too funny for words! He’s down stairs 
in the living-room smoking a cigarette and prac¬ 
ticing walking like a girl. He has an idea he has 
to make his skirt switch, like the flappers.” 

“Does he look like a girl ?” 

“He’s perfect! He has on Ethel’s uniform, and 
it fits beautifully. Ethel does have broad shoulders, 
you know; and they are both about the same height. 
It’s lucky you thought to have him wear the uni¬ 
form; the fullness of the middy hides his form.” 

Marjorie was dressing while she listened to 
Daisy’s description. When she reached for her 
pumps, she stopped short in dismay. 

“What about his feet?” 

“Oh, they’re fine!” laughed Daisy. “I noticed 
that right away. Jack has small feet for a boy, 
you know—” 

“I never noticed,” interrupted his sister. 

“Now imagine never having noticed whether your 
own brother had large feet or small ones! You’re 


220 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


a funny girl, Marj! Well, he managed to squeeze 
into Ethel's brown sport-shoes. He looked ridicu¬ 
lous when he wanted a match to light his cigarette; 
he hitched up his skirt to get at his trousers-pockets 
—he has his trousers rolled up above his knee.” 

Marjorie chuckled as she gave the finishing pats 
to her hair. 

“Now I’m ready,” she announced. “What time 
is it?” 

“Ten-fifteen,” replied Daisy, consulting her wrist- 
watch. Then, throwing her arms impulsively about 
Marjorie, “Oh, I wish you weren’t going, Marj! 
Promise me nothing will happen to you!” 

“There! there! Don’t worry, Daisy!” she said pat¬ 
ting the girl’s shoulder. “You know nothing will 
happen to me with John and Jack along.” 

“No, I hope not. I have great confidence in those 
two boys.” 

“Now let’s go downstairs; the boys will be get¬ 
ting impatient.” 

Marjorie paused on the stairway and looked 
around for Jack. Several other girls had on scout 
uniforms, so she did not identify him immediately. 
Then she saw a strange girl whom she recognized, 
upon closer inspection, to be Jack; and she burst 
out laughing. 

“How do I look?” cried the masquerader, 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


221 


pirouetting in the middle of the room. “Hadn’t 
you better come powder my nose, Sis?” 

“You’re splendid! You had me guessing for a 
moment. Your wig is great! Who fixed you up?” 

“Lily. She’s a dandy lady’s maid.” 

“Well, I’ll tell you what, Lily wouldn’t,” said 
his sister. “You must pull your tie tighter, and hide 
your neck. Girls don’t have necks like that. And 
Jack, couldn’t you swallow your Adam’s-apple ?” 

“Oh, I know I’m a scare-crow,” laughed Jack, 
good-naturedly. “But if the fellow we’re after gets 
close enough to see all those things, I’ll let him 
know in another way that I’m not a girl!” 

“You’ll do, Jack,” commented Mrs. Hadley, who 
had driven over with the boys. “If you just stop 
trying to put your hands into your pockets!” 

“I hope you’ve re-read Tom Sawyer lately,” re¬ 
marked Alice, “and don’t make any of those blunders 
he did when he was trying to pass off for a girl.” 

The young people all laughed as they recalled 
the situation; notwithstanding the mystery and pos¬ 
sible danger of the occasion, the whole thing struck 
them as decidedly funny. 

Mrs. Munsen, however, looked exceedingly grave 
as she kissed Marjorie goodbye. 

“I shall be thankful when I see you safely home 
in the morning,” she said. “Do come as early as 
possible.” 


222 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“We probably shall/’ laughed Marjorie. “I am 
taking a key this time, so that if anything happens 
in the middle of the night I needn’t disturb you.” 

She sat in the back of the car between Mrs. 
Hadley and Jack, while Dick Roberts, who was to 
share with John in the adventure, took the seat up 
front. 

“From now on,” announced Marjorie, “we’re act¬ 
ing. Not a single word of the real situation must 
be mentioned.” 

“Agreed!” replied John. “And you want to go 
in boldly—letting them know you are there?” 

“Absolutely!” said the girl. 

“And don’t forget to call me Ethel,” warned 
Jack. 

The night was clear and still; the stars were 
shining, but there was no moon. The boys were 
glad of this; it would be easier for John and Dick 
to conceal themselves in the darkness. 

“Well, here we are!” said John, as he turned into 
the drive. “Shall I stop right here at the steps?” 

“I wish,” said Marjorie as she descended from 
the machine, that you would go all around the out¬ 
side of the place and listen. Of course, we have 
Jack’s revolver, but still, I’d feel a little safer to 
know that there is no human-being about.” 

“Hadn’t you girls better change your minds, and 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


223 


let me sleep downstairs ?” suggested John, in a clear¬ 
ly audible tone. 

“No, indeed 1” replied Marjorie. “It's evident 
the ghost has a hatred of men, because he never 
shows himself when they’re around.” 

“Displays a lot of good taste,” remarked John, 
“in his preference for the ladies. Now—you and 
mother and Ethel wait here on the porch till I 
come back! I don’t want you entering that empty 
house alone!” 

“But we aren’t a bit afraid!” protested Marjorie. 
“Ethel and I both have our revolvers.” 

Taking his own out from his hip-pocket, John 
started around to the rear of the house, thinking 
all the while of the previous night at the tea-house, 
when he and Jack had searched so cautiously for 
the cause of the sounds that must have been 
imaginary, or produced by the storm. As before, he 
found nothing. Nevertheless, his time was not 
wasted; for he decided upon his own and Dick’s 
place of hiding for the night. After Marjorie’s 
two experiences with voices, which seemed both 
times to come from the cellar confirming what Anna 
had said of her own experience early in the sum¬ 
mer—John was convinced that whatever it was that 
threatened the girls, it actually did originate there. 
But each time, he remembered, upon exploration 
Marjorie had found the cellar empty. It was only 


224 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


logical to conclude, therefore, that the tormentor 
had some method of escape. 

Now upon his previous examination, John had 
come to the conclusion that there was only one 
plausible escape to the outside—for the windows 
were too high and too small to be of any use— 
and that place was the outside slanting cellar-door, 
which he had first thought of as an exit on the 
night he and the other boys spent at the tea-house. 

Not far from this door, but on the opposite side 
of the fence dividing the Scott property from the 
one next door would be a good hiding-place. A 
dense honey-suckle vine covered the fence and hung 
over in profusion; and John noticed that there were 
two places where he and Dick could easily conceal 
themselves. 

He was glad now that they had refused to allow 
the other boys to take part in the adventure, much 
as they had wished to. Someone would have been 
sure to talk, or make a noise, and thus defeat their 
own purpose; but he felt he could rely upon Jack 
and Dick Roberts. 

When he returned to the porch, he found the wo¬ 
men talking volubly. Marjorie seemed to have so 
much to say that there was scarcely opportunity for 
Mrs. Hadley to put in a word. “Ethel” remained 
discreetly silent. 

“Any ghosts?” asked Marjorie. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


225 


“Not a sign!” replied John. “Everything’s very 
quiet.” 

“I guess they won’t be along till after midnight,” 
remarked Marjorie, lightly. “Well, come on in— 
we want you people to go home and get some 
sleep. Ethel is yawning her head off!” 

“Yes, I haven’t heard her say a word since weVe 
been on the porch,” put in Mrs. Hadley, anxious to 
play her part in the little comedy, which she bravely 
hoped would not turn out to be a tragedy. 

Marjorie unlocked the door and they entered and 
turned on the lights. They found everything as 
usual, just as the boys had left it upon locking up 
for the evening. 

“If only you had a telephone!” sighed Mrs. Had¬ 
ley. “It would make matters so much easier.” 

“Yes,” agreed Marjorie; “but you know the com¬ 
pany offered so many objections that we decided 
not to bother just for the summer. But do you 
know, I often think that if we had one right here, 
we might never have had all this opposition!” 

“Unless the house really is haunted,” remarked 
Mrs. Hadley. 

The suggestion of a telephone, however, was a 
new one to John, and he resolved to make use of 
it immediately. On his way past the house next 
door, as he drove his mother home that night, he 
stopped and explained what was going on at the 


226 THE GIEL SCOUTS’ 

tea-house, and told where he and Dick expected to 
hide. 

“And if somebody—probably a girl—comes over 
to use your telephone to get the police, will you 
let her in ?” 

“Certainly/* replied the neighbor, courteously. 

In the meantime Marjorie and Jack went up to 
their cots without the slightest idea of going to 
sleep. Both were much too excited to consider such 
a thing; Marjorie's nap had entirely refreshed her, 
and Jack’s weariness was merely feigned. 

“Do you honestly think anything will happen?” 
asked Marjorie, as she sat down upon one of the 
army cots. 

“I really don’t think so,” whispered Jack. “It’s 
not my luck. There’s never anything but false 
alarms when I’m around.” 

“But you’re Ethel now,” she muttered, between 
her teeth. Then, aloud: 

“But come, Ethel, you’re dreadfully sleepy, I 
mustn’t keep you awake. Spread out your blanket!” 

Jack placed both blankets upon the couches, and 
fussing inarticulately about his hair, stretched him¬ 
self out at full length. But they found that they 
could not go to sleep; they continued to toss about 
for nearly an hour, even though there were no 
sounds to disturb them. Then Jack grew exas¬ 
perated. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 227 

“I’m dying for a smoke, Sis!” he whispered. “Do 
you suppose—?” 

“No! No!” protested Marjorie. “Ethel doesn’t 
—no Girl Scouts do!” 

“Well, I wish she did!” growled the boy, lying 
down again. 

And yet in spite of his impatience Jack fell asleep 
before Marjorie. Long after he was breathing 
regularly she was listening for the noises outside 
the tea-house, wondering whether John and Dick 
were safely in their hiding-place, and above all, 
keeping her ear alert for the cellar. Once or twice 
she thought she heard someone in the yard or back 
by the stable, and she even sat up to listen. But 
each time she decided it was nobody—unless per¬ 
haps it might be one of the watchers, creeping to 
his place of concealment in the honey-suckle. At 
last, she too dozed off, and slept through the small 
hours. 

As in her previous experience, Marjoire was 
awakened just before dawn by a repetition of the 
same continued, regular knocking which she had 
heard twice before. Instantly she sat up in bed; 
but this time it was joy rather than fear that 
took possession of her. She was so excited that she 
almost called her sleeeping companion by his right 
name. She just recovered herself in time. 

“Ethel! Ethel!” she cried, taking hold of Jack’s 


228 


THE GIRL SCOUTS' 


arm, and shaking him as violently as she could. 
“The ghost!” 

Her brother came sharply back to consciousness, 

“Yes! Yes! What is it, Marj?” he whispered, sit¬ 
ting up immediately. 

To his fascinated ears came the welcome sound 
he had so often heard described : 

RAP! RAP! RAP! 

Marjorie was almost breathless in the intensity 
of her excitement. 

“It’s coming from the cellar! Hear it?” she de¬ 
manded. 

Jack nodded silently. 

The knocking came again. 

“Decidedly!” he remarked. “Now for the sig¬ 
nal!” 

“You mean—” Both brother and sister were 
standing upright now, and waiting. 

“I arranged with John that I would blow this if 
we heard anything,” replied Jack, taking a scout 
whistle from his pocket. “That will waken him if 
he is asleep; and he and Dick will rush to the 
cellar door— to catch the fellow as he comes out!” 

“Wonderful!” cried Marjorie. “But wait till 
we get downstairs—I don't want to miss the fun!” 

“No, we can't,” answered Jack. “He might get 
away—like he did when you girls got to the cellar 
steps!” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 229 

Without another moment’s hesitation, Jack blew 
the whistle out the window; and then, picking up 
his skirts, flew down the stairs three at a time, with 
Marjorie close behind. They reached the back-door 
and threw it open just in time to see a figure start 
to raise the cellar-door when John, with a flying 
leap, landed upon it with both feet and sent it 
crashing shut again. 

“Hurray!” yelled Jack. “We’ve got ’im! Some 
team work!” 

John sized up the situation quickly. 

“Dick, you keep your eye on that inside cellar- 
door! He won’t get out those small windows, so 
this is the only other place. Jack, you watch this 
door; but stand clear of it—he might take it into 
his head to shoot through the door. 

“Marjorie, I’ve changed my mind about having 
you telephone; if there are any accomplices hidden 
around, as Dick and I were, they might stop you. 
You’re much safer here with Jack and Dick. Now 
I’ll run along and do the telephoning myself; the 
people know me. I won’t be long.” 

And he dashed out of the yard and up the road 
at top speed. 


230 


THE GIEL SCOUTS’ 


CHAPTER XIX. 

UPHOLDING THE LAW. 

John had no sooner disappeared from view than 
a slight figure emerged from the stable and came 
timidly towards them. It was a woman; and as she 
approached through the gray light of the early 
morning, Marjorie thought it might be one of the 
scouts. 

It was Anna! 

She seemed not to notice the others, but making 
straight for Marjorie, threw herself upon her knees 
at the girl’s feet and clutched at her skirt. 

“Please let him go! Oh, please let him go, Miss 
Marjorie!” 

Marjorie stiffened instantly. 

“Let him go? Of course not! Why should we 
let him go?” 

“Oh, please! Please!” begged the frantic girl. 

“But what does he have to do with you ? Who is 
he?” 

“He’s my father!” 

“Your father!” cried the astonished captors. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 231 

“Yes,” sobbed Anna. “Now won’t you let him 
go?” 

Marjorie commenced to waver. 

“But if he is your father,” thundered Jack, 
“what’s he doing down there?” 

“I’ll tell you—I’ll tell you all. Only let him 
go!” 

“Well, get up! You’ll catch cold on’the damp 
ground.” 

“You tell us first!” said Jack; “then we’ll de¬ 
cide whether we’ll let him go or not.” 

Anna stood there nervously clasping and unclasp¬ 
ing her hands 

“And you’ll have to be quick about it,” he added. 
“One of us has already gone to telephone the police.” 

This piece of information added to the look of 
fear in the girl’s face. 

“I’ll tell!” she said. “My father used to be care¬ 
taker for Mr. Scott before he died. When the son 
closed up the house, he told father he would not 
need him any longer; but he wanted him to keep 
an eye on the place, and he would pay him for do¬ 
ing it. So he let father keep the set of keys he had 
always had. 

“So father was out of work. My mother is dead, 
and we’re pretty poor. I have an older brother, 
but he was never able to keep a job long. Until 
prohibition—then he started boot-legging and made 


232 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


lots of money. He worked on father to let him 
make the stuff back there in the Scott’s stable. Father 
held out for a while; he didn’t want to do it, but 
he needed the money; so he finally gave in. He 
could work around the place, and nobody in the 
neighborhood would suspect anything, because they 
thought he was still care-taker here. 

“My brother made a good business of it; the peo¬ 
ple he sold it to would come in the middle of the 
night and stop their machines there in the road; 
and Tom—that’s my brother—Tom would give 
them the stuff he made. He fixed it up with the 
policemen on this beat, who were friends of his. 

“Everything went fine for awhile, and we made 
lots of money. Then you came and opened a tea¬ 
house. My brother was back in the stable the first 
(day you came in. When he saw you there the 
second time, he was sure you was going to rent the 
house; so that night he moved all the things he had 
there—” 

“Then nothing really did happen to you—the 
way you said—the night you stayed here with your 
aunt?” interrupted Jack. 

“No. That was all made up. It was Tom’s idea 
for me to have the party, and he thought it was a 
pretty smart plan; because it gave me an excuse for 
staying here all night—with Aunt Mary, too, who 
really didn’t know what was going on.” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


233 


“Anna, you're a selfish, unfeeling girl!’' cried 
Marjorie. “Aren't you ashamed of yourself for 
scaring your aunt and all of us that way?" 

“But we had to do it, Miss Marjorie!" argued 
Anna. “Tom didn't have any place to carry on his 
business, and he was losing all his trade while you 
stayed here. And instead of frightening you away 
that first time, it only brought you more busi- 


“So you tried it again," said Jack. 

“Yes. We knew that you had heard about the 
place being haunted, and Tom had an idea that if 
we kept it up long enough, and some of you girls 
heard the ghost in the house, we’d scare you away. 
So every time any girls stayed at night, he tried to 
frighten them—" 

“But never when any of the boys were here," in¬ 
terrupted Jack, again. 

“Yes, once. Tom saw a light in here one night, 
and thought it was the girls; but it happened to be 
the boys. He didn’t think he could frighten the 
boys." 

“Was that the night of the storm?" asked Jack. 

Anna thought a minute, and then said: 

“Yes, I guess it was. Tom did start to go down 
the cellar; but he changed his mind. He was afraid 
of the boys." 

Jack smiled to himself as he thought of that 



234 


THE GIEL SCOUTS 


night. He and John had been standing a good deal 
of kidding from the other fellows; now they could 
tell them a thing or two. 

“Who was down there the night we girls had a 
party ?” questioned Marjorie. 

“Tom was. I overheard Alice say you were go¬ 
ing to have one of them spirit—what d’you call 'em 
—persons there, and I told him. So he was on the 
job in the cellar until you girls started to look 
around. He could hear all you said; so he left in a 
hurry. He said he didn’t want to wait for that girl 
with a pistol—meanin’ you. But he thought sure 
you’d leave the place after that! Now will you let 
pa go, if we promise not to do it any more ?” 

“You say it’s your father down there?” said 
Jack, pointing to the cellar. “Where’s your 
brother ?” 

“He had to be away last night, but he was down 
by them bushes earlier in the evening, and saw you 
come in; and thought two girls was going to be here 
all alone; so he got pa to take his place. But he 
never would have risked it if he had known that 
one of you was a boy. I got so anxious about pa 
myself that I came here to bring him away—but 
just as I got here I heard the three whistles. Won’t 
you please let him go?” 

“What could we tell the police?” asked Jack, 


VACATION ADVENTURES 235 

looking at Marjorie. “They will be here any minute 
now” 

“Oh, tell them anything! Tell them it was me, 
startin' to work extra early," said Anna, her fear of 
the law sharpening her wits. 

“He ought to be in jail!" muttered Jack. “How¬ 
ever, let him come up, anyhow. We’ll see what 
John says when he comes back. Go pull the door 
open, will you, Dick?" 

As a precautionary measure, Jack stepped clear 
of the others, with his revolver ready. Anna ran to 
the door before Dick could reach it, had it open, 
and called down: 

“Come out, Pa! It’s all right.” 

An elderly man, with a half-eaten apple in one 
hand, came blinking into the daylight. 

As soon as Marjorie saw him, she started violent¬ 
ly- 

“Why, he’s the old man who warned us, that first 
day!" she exclaimed in' an undertone to Jack. “The 
tea-room’s first guest!" 

When he espied Marjorie, he nodded his head. 

“Good morning. Miss! I hope you’ll excuse the 
liberty—I just had to have one of those apples. 
I’m Anna’s father. She told me what prime apples 
you had down there." And he waved his hand to¬ 
wards the cellar. Then, catching sight of Jack with 
a revolver, a twinkle appeared in his eyes. 


236 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


“Expecting an attack, sir ?” he asked, respectfully. 

Jack bit his lips, and glared. 

“Well, of all the cheek, you take the cake!” he 
murmured, to himself. “I’ve a good mind to settle 
your hash!” 

Aloud he said: 

“Suppose you come over here and sit down on 
the porch and have a talk—until the police come!” 

For he knew they must come; and while he had 
not yet made up his mind what he would say to 
them, he had decided that he would not let this man 
get away before John returned. 

“The police ?” said the man with a surprised air. 
“What are the police coming for, may I ask?” 

“You know as well as I do! Don’t try to pull 
off that kind of stuff!” exploded the boy. “Anna’s 
told us all about it.” 

The man cast a reproachful look at his daughter. 

“I had to, Pa! They were going to turn you over 
to the police,” she explained. 

“But you say the police are coming,” said the 
father, turning to Jack. 

The boy nodded. 

“Yes, Mr. Benton,” answered Marjorie. “And 
we’re sorry we didn’t catch your son, instead of you. 
He seems to be the principal offender; but we sent 
for the police before we knew who it was, and—” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


237 


She stopped, and listened. A motor had stopped 
at the entrance. 

“And they are probably here now!” said Jack, 
finishing the sentence for her. 

“What about me?” asked the man, starting to 
rise. 

“Just sit still and keep quite!” ordered Jack, 
sharply; “and you’ll see! Show the cops around 
here, will you, Dick?” 

“I wonder what has happened to John?” said 
Marjorie, nervously. “I thought he’d be back long 
before the police arrived.” 

“So did I,” said Jack. “Maybe he waited for 
them.” 

A man in plain clothes appeared with Dick around 
the side of the house. When he beheld Jack in a 
skirt and middy-blouse, twirling a girl’s wig on one 
of his fingers, he had difficulty in repressing a 
laugh. 

“What’s the trouble?” he asked, gazing from one 
to another. “Who telephoned ? I am a special offi¬ 
cer.” 

For a moment no one spoke. Then Jack said: 

“I’m afraid it’s all a mistake!” And he looked up 
at the officer with far more calmness than he felt 
inwardly. 

“A mistake?” inquired the other, suspiciously, 
elevating his eyebrows. 


238 


THE GIRL SCOUTS* 


“Yes,” answered Jack. “You see, if was like this: 
we thought we heard something. ...” 

“Oh . . . I see . . . the ghost again!” 

“Exactly! At least, if it wasn’t a ghost—” 

“Well, what then?” 

But Jack never completed the sentence. An ex¬ 
clamation from Marjorie and his own staring eyes 
caused them all to turn in the direction toward 
which he was gazing so intently. 

A man was doing his best to climb over the 
back fence, and to hold both his hands above his 
head at the same time; and he was having some 
difficulty; for in one of his hands he held an oblong 
package wrapped in paper. Immediately behind 
him stood John, and with him a strange man. 

“Now walk up to those people, and stop!” they 
could hear John command. “And don’t move too 
fast! Keep your hands up!” 

The man did as he was ordered. As the strange 
procession came towards them they had ample time 
to look it over. First there came the one with up¬ 
raised hands. He had a black moustache, and wore 
a felt hat pulled down over his eyes, and a light 
check suit. Next came John, with a revolver in his 
hand, a look of grim determination on his face. At 
his side walked a well-dressed, good-looking man of 
middle-age, obviously a gentleman. 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


239 


When John's prisoner saw Anna's father, he came 
to a stand and greeted him. 

“Hello, Pop! I thought I'd stop and see how you 
were getting along!" he blustered, with a grin. 

“Hello, yourself, Tim Kelley!" called the officer 
in plain clothes. “What's that you have in your 
hand?" 

The other turned pale, and looked hard at his 
questioner. 

“Just a few personal belonging," he muttered. 
“What's that to you?" 

‘Til have a look at your ‘personal belongin's,' if 
you please!" answered the officer, turning the lapel 
of his coat and displaying a shining badge. “Come 
on Tim, hand it over! I know you—and a good 
deal more about you than you think!" 

And he walked up to him and took the package 
from his hand. 

“Now you can put your hands up again!" he 
added. “You’ll be well taken care of." 

The sound of a powerful machine stopping in the 
road came to their ears. The officer stepped out 
into the middle of the yard and made a mega¬ 
phone of his hand. 

“Come on back here, men!" he shouted. 

Four burly policemen walked up the drive. 

“Just keep an eye on that fellow while I have a 
look at this, will you?" said the plain clothes man; 


240 


THE GIKL SCOUTS’ 


and he proceeded to break the string of the pack- 
age, opened one end, and sniffed at the contents. 
Then, he closed the paper and nodded his head at 
the prisoner. 

“Just as j thought!” he said. “I’ve caught you 
with the goods this time. The wagon’s outside, so 
you come along with us. Put the cuffs on him, Mor¬ 
gan!” 

Then, turning to Anna’s father, he added: 

“And you’d better come along, too, Mr. Kelley. 
Now, don’t explain; anything you say will be used 
against you! You can do the explaining later on. 
I know all about you, as it happens, anyhow. You 
young people will hear from us later on. I congratu¬ 
late you upon your capture. I am a detective on 
the force. I have been working on this case for 
some time. You may have thought we were asleep; 
but we didn’t have sufficient evidence to act sooner. 
The fact that a couple of the men on the force were 
in cahoots with these boot-legggers only complicated 
matters. Well, there was no harm done; and you’ve 
covered yourselves with glory! But let me say this 
to you, young man: don’t ever try to shield the 
guilty; it doesn’t pay!” 

And with this parting shot at Jack, and a hearty 
laugh at the boy’s make-up, he departed. 

So many amazing things had happened in such 
a short space of time, that those who remained could 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


241 


only stand and gaze after the departing figure and 
then at each other in stupefaction. Jack was the 
first to come to. 

“Gosh!” he exclaimed, with a gulp. “Just like 
that!” 

The stranger standing at John’s side laughed. 

“I beg your pardon!” said John, suddenly re¬ 
membering his presence. “Marjorie, I have the 
honor of presenting Mr. Emerson, who lives next 
door, and whose telephone I used. Mr. Emerson 
was good enough to insist on coming back with me. 
And it’s a good thing he did. He happened to be 
awake and heard Jack whistle three times; so he 
guessed that something was going to happen. When 
he looked out the window while I was telephoning 
he saw that fellow Tim Kelley skulking across the 
fields towards the tea-house, and became suspicious. 
So instead of coming back by the road, as I would 
naturally have come if I had been alone, we cut 
across the field together and followed the fellow. 
We found him hiding behind the stable, spying on 
you; so we thought that was enough evidence to 
take him prisoner on. And you know the rest. 
That’s how it was, wasn’t it, Mr. Emerson?” 

“Exactly.” 

“Oh, how can we ever thank you for helping us ?” 
exclaimed Marjorie. 

“Don’t try! It was nothing. This young man did 


242 


THE GIRL SCOUTS 


it all!” he said, placing his hand upon John's arm. 
“But let me congratulate you, Miss Wilkinson. You 
have done a fine thing; and I know it took courage 
to stay in this house all night!” 

John introduced the other boys to Mr. Emerson, 
calling Jack “Ethel” when his turn came. 

“By the way, Jack,” he suddenly asked. “Do you 
know who my prisoner was ?” 

“Sure!” replied Jack. “Anna's brother!” 

“Anna’s brother!” exclaimed John. “I didn't 
know that!” 

“Who did you think he was ?” 

“Why, the man who was looking for Bill Smith!” 

“No! Really?” cried Jack. “Well, he's Anna's 
brother, anyhow—and the old man was her father!” 

And he looked over to the corner of the porch 
where Anna sat silently looking on. Going over to 
her, Jack put his hand rather wistfully upon her 
shoulder. 

“I'm sorry, Anna!” You saw it couldn’t be helped. 
I never meant to tell on your father. Then, when 
when they brought your brother up, he gave every¬ 
thing away himself. But the detective knew all 
about it, anyhow.” 

Anna answered him quite calmly. 

“I don't blame you, Mr. Jack. It couldn't be 
helped, as you say.” 

“There's one thing I don't understand,” continued 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


243 


Jack. “Your name is Anna Benton. Those two 
men answered the name of Kelley. How is that?” 

“Mr. Kelley was only my step-father,” replied 
Anna. “Tom was my half-brother.” 

“Oh!” said Jack. “I see.” 


244 


THE GIRL SCOUTS' 


CHAPTER XX. 

CONCLUSION. 

When Marjorie realized that the excitement was 
all over, she left the keys of the tea-house with her 
brother and hurried back to tell the scouts the good 
news. It was still very early in the morning; the 
sun was just making its appearance above the hori¬ 
zon when she opened the door of the Harris house. 
Instead of trying to enter silently, she made every 
effort to signify, by her noisy cheer, the success of 
her undertaking. 

“Hurrah for the Girl Scouts!” she sang out as 
she reached the foot of the stairs. “Hurrah for their 
loyal helpers, the boys!” 

She was rewarded by a general stir on the floor 
above; one by one the girls slipped out of their 
beds, donned their kimonas, and came to the top of 
the stairs. Lily rushed down and threw her arms 
around Marjorie. 

“You're safe! You're safe!” she cried joyously. 
“Oh, Marj, I'm so thankful!” 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


245 


“What happened? Tell us!” demanded two or 
three other girls at the same time. 

“Wait till I come up,” replied Marjorie, as she 
and Lily started to ascend together. ‘Til tell you 
the whole story, as we finally got it from the chief 
boot-legger himself—and from Anna!” 

“The boot-legger? Anna?” repeated all the 
astonished girls at once. 

Marjorie nodded and led the way into her own 
room, surrounded by the scouts and Mrs. Munsen, 
who had joined the group. They all climbed upon 
her bed, and listened while she recounted, as fast as 
she could talk, the thrilling details of the capture 
and confession. They leaned forward breathlessly, 
admiring her more every moment for her courage 
and persistence. 

“Suppose you had taken our advice and closed 
the tea-house!” remarked Marie Louise. “We’d 
never have discovered the real cause of all those 
mysterious knocks.” 

“And that old boot-legger and his family would 
have gone on getting richer and richer, in opposition 
to the government!” added Florence. 

“I always thought Anna was too good to be true,” 
put in Daisy. “Most girls of her ability get more 
than we could afford to pay her.” 

“And besides, now that I think of it,” said Mrs. 
Munsen, “we really ought to have considered it 


246 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


very strange for her to go on working in a place 
where she had such a dreadful experience as she 
claimed to have had. You wouldn’t find one man 
in a hundred willing to take a chance like that— 
let alone a girl!” 

“Well, it’s all right now!” said Marjorie, getting 
up from the bed. “Now—how about some break¬ 
fast?” 

“Yes, you must be starved, you poor child!” said 
Mrs. Munsen. “If you go down and start things, 
Marjorie, I’ll be with you in five minutes.” 

“And put something on for those noble boys,” 
said Daisy. “They’ll probably be along soon!” 

The girls separated to dress, but they could not 
stop talking about the event; indeed, they discussed 
it at breakfast, dinner, and supper, upon every occa¬ 
sion—during their duties at the tea-house and their 
leisure at home in the evening. 

Nor did they confine their talking to their own 
party, for Marjorie, anxious to clear up the sus¬ 
picion that was attached to the place, immediately 
informed all the newspapers; and when the report 
was confirmed by the police and even by the Chief 
Dry Agent of the city, it received substantial pub¬ 
licity. As a natural result, business increased as 
the days went by; the tea-house became more and 
more widely known to Philadelphians and their 
friends, and more generally patronized. As the 


VACATION ADVENTURES 


247 


time for closing drew near, Marjorie realized that 
her enterprise was an overwhelming triumph. 

She would have considered the sale of the busi¬ 
ness and the fine little sum which she handed into 
Daisy’s keeping the culmination of their succcess, 
had it not been for an occurrence that took place on 
Labor Day—their last day at the tea-room. The 
whole thing came as a complete surprise. 

It was supper time, and the tea-room was filled 
with guests. All the Girl Scouts in their uniforms 
were serving as waitresses; the boys were working 
in the kitchen under the direction of Mrs. Munsen; 
and even Mrs. Hadley had insisted upon taking a 
hand in the work. Just as Marjorie was wonder¬ 
ing what they would do if any more patrons ar¬ 
rived, a motor drew up to the steps, and stopped 
while an impressive-looking man got out. He strode 
across the porch and opened the screen door in a 
manner that proclaimed him a person of dignity 
and authority. 

“Is this the Girl Scout Tea-room?” he asked, in 
a tone clearly audible in every part of the room. 

“Yes,” replied Ethel, who happened to be stand¬ 
ing nearest to the* door. “I am sorry that there 
are no vacant tables this minute, but if you will 
be kind enough to wait in the rest-room, we will 
try to serve you as soon as possible.” 

“I am sure your supper would be delicious,” re- 


248 


THE GIRL SCOUTS’ 


plied the man, courteously, still in the same distinct 
tone; “but I came for another purpose than for food. 
I am the Chief Dry Agent in the city.” 

“Yes,” said Ethel, trembling in spite of herself. 

“And who is your superior officer?” continued the 
official. 

“Miss Wilkinson,” replied Ethel, as Marjorie 
came forward. 

“Then, Miss Wilkinson, I want to tell you 
that I am here to congratulate your troop for 
catching a notorious boot-legger, who has 
been baffling the police for some time. In recogni¬ 
tion of this service, we beg to present you with a 
written vote of thanks, bearing the seal of our de¬ 
partment beneath the signature. You girls have not 
only performed a noteworthy service for the locality, 
but you have aided in the enforcement of an im¬ 
portant Federal law. Because of your courage and 
perseverance, prohibition is one step nearer to be¬ 
coming an established fact.” 

Amid the applause that followed from every cor¬ 
ner of the tea-room as Marjorie graciously accepted 
the tribute, the joyous shouts of their staunch com¬ 
rades in the kitchen could be heard—those untiring 
helpers who had worked so loyally all summer—that 
splendid band of boys, led by John Hadley and his 
assistant, Jack Wilkinson! 

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